Call for a truce in Libya

1 Syria — the UN

The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, condemned the explosion in the Syrian city of Afrin, and he expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the victims. His statement was published on the UN website. António Guterres called for a “complete and immediate ceasefire in Syria in order to make comprehensive efforts to fight the spread of the coronavirus». “Those who violate the international humanitarian law and the human rights should be held accountable” — the Secretary General concluded.

2 Libya

The spokesman for the Libyan National Army, Major-General Ahmed al-Mismari, announced that «in response to the call of the friendly countries — the high command of the Libyan National Army, commanded by the Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, ceases the hostilities in the country, but reserves the right to respond to attacks» — the ‘Al Hadath’ TV quoted Ahmed Al-Mismari. He added that the Libyan National Army will soon reveal a transitional road map for the country. «Within a few days, a road map for the transition period will be announced. The transition will be headed by the Field Marshal Haftar. The road map provides an adoption of a new constitutional declaration» — al-Mismari explained. Earlier, the Libyan National Army announced that it takes the control over the state. That decision was met negatively by most states.

3 Russia — Libya

The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Russia supports the calls for a humanitarian truce in Libya due to the onset of the holy month of Ramadan. The Russian Foreign Ministry made this statement after a telephone conversation between the Special Representative of the Russian President for the Middle East and the African countries — the Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, and the head of the Libyan Foreign Ministry from the interim cabinet that operates in the east of Libya — Abdelhadi al-Hweija. The parties exchanged their views on the latest development of the military, political, and humanitarian situations in Libya. Russia confirmed its position, and underlined that it approves the solution of the “urgent Libyan problems by the Libyans themselves via an inclusive dialogue, with an aid from the UN”. «At the same time — we support the calls made in Libya for a humanitarian ceasefire due to the holy month of Ramadan» — ​​the Russian Foreign Ministry concluded.

4 The USA — Iran

The US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo announced on-air of the ‘Fox News’ that Washington isn’t going to return to the compliance with the “Joint Comprehensive Action Plan” for Iran. Washington intends to prevent the sale of arms to Iran after the end of the arms embargo. «President Donald Trump intends to use all the tools at our disposal so that the Iranians do not have even more conventional weapons» — Michael Pompeo explained. He underlined that the USA intend to act via the UN and the diplomatic means. Earlier on Sunday, ‘The New York Times’ reported that the USA plan to try to get the UN Security Council to adopt a draft resolution that preserves the arms embargo on Iran, which is based on a provision from the ‘Joint Comprehensive Action Plan’.

5 The UN — the USA — Cuba

The UN human rights experts urged to lift the US sanctions against Cuba that impede the purchase of medicines, medical equipment, and food during the coronavirus pandemic. The statement was signed by 7 special UN experts from the Human Rights Council. They underlined that the US have ignored the repeated calls for lifting of the sanctions that «undermine the ability of Cuba, and other such countries, to effectively respond to the pandemic, and save lives». The statement underlined that the US embargo against Cuba, and the sanctions against other countries, «seriously undermine the international cooperation in the fight against the pandemic». The experts believe that during the pandemic — these sanctions threaten «the right to life, health, and other extremely important rights of the most vulnerable segments of the Cuban population».