INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Boris Johnson will join other world leaders - including Russia's Vladimir Putin - at a summit in Berlin on Sunday aimed at trying to resolve
an escalating civil war in Libya.The rival heads of the two sides fighting for control of the North African state are due to attend the
long-awaited gathering.They are respectively backed by different foreign powers in a conflict that risks turning Libya into the latest proxy
warzone after Syria.Image:Damage to a building following an airstrike in Tajura, east of Tripoli, last monthBefore the talks even began,
rebel forces blocked oil exports from Libya's main ports, ramping up pressure on the internationally-recognised government of Prime Minister
Fayez al Sarraj.German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is hosting the meeting, hopes to convince the warring factions, with the help of the
United Nations, to agree on a lasting ceasefire.This could include the deployment of the UN-backed peacekeeping force to oversee the
implementation of any enduring truce.But diplomats are not expecting a significant breakthrough this weekend.April 2019: Sky News meets
Libya's prime minister Fayez al SarrajThe dialogue in Berlin is seen as the start of a process to try to resolve the past nine months of
increasingly dangerous conflict.A US official travelling with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who will be present, said: "I think it's so
complex and the heels are so far dug in that I would have moderate expectations as we go into this."Libya has been consumed by conflict and
instability since the ousting of Colonel Muamar Gaddafi in an uprising in 2011 that was supported by Britain, France and the US.Since last
April, fighting has spiked again between forces loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli and the so-called Libyan
National Army (LNA) that supports would-be strongman Khalifa Haftar, a former Libyan general.Image:Khalifa Haftar served as a military
officer under Colonel GaddafiThe UN-recognised government is being variously supported diplomatically, financially and militarily by Turkey,
Qatar and Italy.On the other side, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and France are helping Mr Haftar.The violence over the past few
months has left thousands of people dead or injured and forced some 140,000 civilians to flee their homes, raising the possibility of a new
wave of migration across the Mediterranean to Europe.It is also creating a security vacuum into which extremist groups are able to
flourish.Image:Khalifa Haftar (second right) was seen arriving in Berlin on SaturdayTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used this threat
to warn European allies of what he viewed as the danger of not backing the Tripoli government.He said the European Union's failure to
adequately support Prime Minister al Sarraj would be "a betrayal of its own core values, including democracy and human rights"."Europe will
encounter a fresh set of problems and threats if Libya's legitimate government were to fall," President Erdogan wrote in an article for the
Politico website."Terrorist organisations such as ISIS and al Qaeda, which suffered a military defeat in Syria and Iraq, will find a fertile
ground to get back on their feet."April 2019 - Libya: On the frontlineIn a joint initiative, Turkey and Russia have brokered a ceasefire but
Mr Haftar walked away from talks in Moscow this week aimed at finalising the truce agreement.A furious President Erdogan has accused him of
fleeing and said he would "teach (him) a lesson" if he resumed fighting.World powers are trying to mediate a lasting ceasefire at the
international conference in Berlin, which President Erdogan will attend
Other leaders present include President Emmanuel Macron of France.Image:There were protests in Libya this month over the decision to send in
Turkish forcesUN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a press briefing on Friday: "We hope what comes out of Berlin is renewed demonstration
of international unity in supporting the intra-Libyan political process, ending foreign interference, leading to full respect of the UN arms
embargo."The conference will aim to agree six points - including a permanent ceasefire, implementation of a much-violated UN arms embargo
and a return to political efforts for peace.Tribesmen allied to Mr Haftar imposed the oil export blockades from Friday at the eastern ports
of Brega, Ras Lanuf, Hariga, Zuitina and Es Sider.Image:Angela Merkel is hosting the summit, which Boris Johnson will attendThe move is
reportedly in protest at a decision by Turkey to send troops to Libya to shore up Prime Minister al Sarraj.While the focus of the day will
be on Libya, the meeting will provide the first opportunity for Mr Johnson as prime minister to sit round a table with Russia's President
Putin.It is not yet known whether the two men will hold any bilateral talks.Relations between London and Moscow are at a post-Cold War low
in the wake of the attempted assassination of a former Russian spy and his daughter in Salisbury.A failure by Mr Johnson to allow the
release of a parliamentary report ahead of last month's election into alleged Russian meddling in in the UK caused an outcry.
