Erdogan, Trump discuss Libya developments in phone call

1/17/2020 - 9:52:17 AM

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and US President Donald Trump discussed developments in Libya in a phone call on January 15, the White House and Turkey's presidency said, days ahead of a summit in Berlin that will address the Libyan conflict.

Turkish and Russian officials meet in Moscow ahead of planned talks between Libya's rival leaders Fayez al-Serraj and Khalifa Haftar in hopes the two sides will sign a ceasefire deal on January 13, 2020.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will host leaders of Turkey, Russia, the United States, Britain, China, France and Italy on January 19 at the summit, which follows a meeting in Moscow on January 13 where Libya's warring parties failed to sign a ceasefire agreement.

Since veteran dictator Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in a 2011 uprising, the North African country has been in turmoil, with outside powers providing support to rival factions.

Trump and Erdogan also discussed the situation in Syria, protests in Iran and Iran's downing of a Ukraine International Airlines flight, the White House said in a statement.

Source: Reuters

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