Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday called for international efforts to address the escalating crisis in Libya.
Libya has seen a recent escalation of the turmoil that has gripped the oil-rich country since a NATO-backed uprising killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, with strongman Khalifa Haftar trying to capture Tripoli from the UN-recognised government.
Germany and Russia are both acting as mediators in a conflict Berlin has warned could become a "second Syria" and the topic topped the agenda as they met for talks at the Kremlin.
Putin along with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan this week called for a ceasefire in Libya starting Sunday from midnight, but Haftar has vowed to fight on.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Saturday that Ankara is "waiting for our Russian friends to succeed in convincing Haftar."
"I am really counting on the opposing sides in Libya ceasing fire, ceasing armed combat... within a few hours," Putin said. "It's important to bring an end to the armed confrontation."
Merkel, making her first visit to Russia since 2018, said she hoped "the Turkish-Russian efforts will be successful," calling a ceasefire a first step in a peace process.
At their meeting, both expressed support for a planned Libya peace conference in Berlin being organised by UN special envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, which could be held in the coming weeks.
"We agreed that soon we'll be able to send out invitations for a conference on Libya in Berlin," Merkel said.
"We support the initiative of the German Chancellor to hold a conference," Putin said, calling this "timely" and a "very good step in the right direction." The conference must include "countries that have a real interest in promoting a peace settlement" and decisions must be agreed preliminarily with the Libyan sides, with the involvement of Salame, he said.
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