German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Libyan peace talks will be held in Berlin, as Turkey and Russia appealed to Libya's warring factions to enter a ceasefire. During a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday, Merkel said: "We hope that the joint efforts by Russia and Turkey will lead to success, and we will soon send out invitations for a conference in Berlin." Merkel stressed that the United Nations would lead talks if a meeting were to take place in Berlin, and that Libya's warring parties would need to play a major role to help find a solution. The aim was to give Libya the chance to become a sovereign and peaceful country, Merkel said. Putin expressed support for the process, saying it was a 'timely' idea and necessary to bring the conflict in Libya to an end. Earlier this week Turkey and Russia urged Libya's warring parties to declare a ceasefire on Sunday. Turkey backs Fayez al-Serraj's Tripoli-based, internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) and has said it will send military advisers and possibly troops to reinforce its support, while Russian military contractors have been deployed alongside General Khalifa Haftar's eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA). In response to being asked whether he was aware of the presence of Russian mercenaries in Libya Putin said: "If there are Russian citizens there, then they are not representing the interests of the Russian state and they are not receiving money from the Russian state."
