Russia on Sunday blocked a UN Security Council statement that would have called on forces loyal to Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar to halt their advance on Tripoli, diplomats said.

Moscow insisted that the formal statement urge all Libyan forces to stop fighting, but the proposed change was opposed by the United States, council diplomats said.

After a closed-door meeting on Friday, the council called on Haftar’s self-proclaimed Libyan National Army to “halt its military activity” in an agreed statement to the press.

Britain then proposed a more formal text for approval to the 15-member council that was opposed by Russia. All council statements are agreed by consensus.

The proposed statement would have called on Haftar’s forces to halt all military activity and for all forces to de-escalate, according to the text seen by AFP.

The draft also would have “called for those who undermine Libya’s peace and security to be held to account” and renewed support for a national conference to be held this month on holding elections.

Russia has been a key supporter of Haftar, along with Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

Fighting raged south of Tripoli on Sunday, three days after Haftar launched the offensive to seize the capital, now controlled by a UN-backed unity government and an array of militias.

The LNA said it had carried out its first air raid on a Tripoli suburb.

The UN mission in Libya called for a two-hour humanitarian pause in the fighting that appeared to have been ignored.

The health ministry in Tripoli said at least 21 people have been killed and 27 wounded in the fighting.

The offensive raised fears of return to all-out war in Libya and left a question mark over the UN-led effort to lay the groundwork for elections with the April 14-16 conference.

Libya descended into chaos during the 2011 overthrow of Moamer Kadhafi that has seen a bitter rivalry emerge between the Tripoli-based authorities and Haftar’s supporters in the east of the country. </s> UNITED NATIONS: Russia on Sunday (Apr 7) blocked a UN Security Council statement that would have called on forces loyal to Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar to halt their advance on Tripoli, diplomats said.

Moscow insisted that the formal statement urge all Libyan forces to stop fighting, but the proposed change was opposed by the United States, council diplomats said.

After a closed-door meeting on Friday, the council called on Haftar's self-proclaimed Libyan National Army to "halt its military activity" in an agreed statement to the press.

Britain then proposed a more formal text for approval to the 15-member council that was opposed by Russia. All council statements are agreed by consensus.

The proposed statement would have called on Haftar's forces to halt all military activity and for all forces to de-escalate, according to the text seen by AFP.

The draft also would have "called for those who undermine Libya's peace and security to be held to account" and renewed support for a national conference to be held this month on holding elections.

Russia has been a key supporter of Haftar, along with Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

Fighting raged south of Tripoli on Sunday, three days after Haftar launched the offensive to seize the capital, now controlled by a UN-backed unity government and an array of militias.

The LNA said it had carried out its first air raid on a Tripoli suburb.

The UN mission in Libya called for a two-hour humanitarian pause in the fighting that appeared to have been ignored.

The health ministry in Tripoli said at least 21 people have been killed and 27 wounded in the fighting.

The offensive raised fears of return to all-out war in Libya and left a question mark over the UN-led effort to lay the groundwork for elections with the Apr 14-16 conference.

Libya descended into chaos during the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Ghadaffi that has seen a bitter rivalry emerge between the Tripoli-based authorities and Haftar's supporters in the east of the country. </s> TRIPOLI: The UN's Libya envoy warned Thursday (Apr 18) of "a widening conflagration" in the North African country, saying international divisions had encouraged strongman Khalifa Haftar to launch his assault on Tripoli.

But for now, Ghassan Salame told AFP in an interview, there was "deadlock" in fighting south of the capital between Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) and the internationally recognised government.

"After the very first successes of the Libyan National Army two weeks ago, we are witnessing a military deadlock," he said.

Fighting broke out on Apr 4 when Haftar and his LNA, based in the country's east, launched an offensive to take Tripoli, the western seat of the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA).

Haftar's offensive forced the UN to postpone a national conference that was to draw up a roadmap to elections in a bid to turn the page on years of chaos since the 2011 ouster of dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

The fighting has so far left at least 205 people dead and more than 900 wounded, the World Health Organisation said Thursday.

With both sides dug in, "Tripoli witnessed the heaviest fighting since the outbreak of clashes, with indiscriminate rocket fire on a high-density neighbourhood in the Libyan capital", said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Wednesday.

More than 25,000 have been displaced, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Salame told AFP that "international divisions existed before the attack" and had "encouraged" Haftar, who is backed by Russia and seen by his allies Egypt and the United Arab Emirates as a bulwark against Islamists.

The UN Security Council has been deeply split on how to address the crisis in Libya after fresh negotiations on a draft resolution demanding a ceasefire in Tripoli failed to yield agreement.

Russia has sought to block any language that criticised Haftar's offensive as a threat to Libya's stability.

Germany, which holds the council presidency, called for an urgent meeting Thursday, when the council was to hear a briefing on the situation on the ground and "consult on the way forward", according to a note seen by AFP.

Britain has put forward a draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and de-escalation but Russia put up its concerns over language that criticized Haftar's offensive.

A slightly watered-down version was put forward by Britain on Wednesday but the three African countries on the council - Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, South Africa - blocked it.

Moscow also said the proposed measure even after it was amended was "still far away from accommodating our concerns", according to a note from the Russian mission seen by AFP.

The revised text did not single out Haftar's forces, but instead expressed "grave concern at military activity" near Tripoli, "including the launching of a military offensive by the LNA".

The three African countries insisted that there be a reference to an African Union statement on the need for all parties fighting in Tripoli to protect civilians including migrants and refugees, according to documents seen by AFP.

Britain had hoped to hold a vote before Friday, but that now looks unlikely. Diplomats said the United States appeared to be dragging its feet in pushing for a quick adoption of the draft resolution. </s> (Bloomberg) -- Russia vowed to use “all available means” to try to broker peace in Libya as warlord Khalifa Haftar brushed aside U.S. warnings to press his military advance on the capital Tripoli.

President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Russia is urging all sides “to avoid any actions that could provoke bloodshed and the death of civilians,” in a conference call with reporters on Monday.

While the Kremlin has joined other global powers in urging a halt to fighting, it’s refrained from blaming Haftar for the outbreak of hostilities. Russia also blocked a more forceful statement singling out the strongman’s forces by the United Nations Security Council.

Russia along with the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and France has supported Haftar, who is moving his self-styled Libyan National Army west to Tripoli to fight what he says is “terrorism” after solidifying control of the east and sweeping through the south in January. While the offensive caught Moscow off balance, it sees the developments as a potential way to encourage a deal.

Putin’s administration views Haftar’s actions as “an effort to demonstrate he’s a factor that has to be taken into account, to get bargaining chips,” said Andrey Kortunov, head of the Russian International Affairs Council, a research group set up by the Kremlin.

U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo late Sunday called for an “immediate halt” to Haftar’s advance on Tripoli, warning “there is no military solution to the Libya conflict.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who discussed the crisis with his Egyptian counterpart in Cairo on Saturday, criticized the use of air strikes against Haftar’s forces by opponents allied to UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj.

“Russia can do something in coordination with Egypt, if there are reciprocal steps by Sarraj, because there are efforts there to exclude Haftar from the political process, which is against Russian interests,” Kortunov said.

Putin criticized the North Atlantic Treaty Organization-led air campaign that helped to oust Libyan dictator Moammar Qaddafi in 2011 as a “crusade.” While Russia has been building ties to all factions in Libya, including supporters of Qaddafi, it’s providing training to Haftar’s forces, according to Western diplomats.

The problem with the military leader is that he’s not ready to compromise, said Vasily Kuznetsov, head of the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies in Moscow.

In a bid to advance mediation efforts in support of a planned UN-hosted national conference in mid-April, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has been conducting phone diplomacy, speaking to Haftar and rival Libyan figures.

The chances of easing the crisis in Libya “aren’t high but they do exist,” said Elena Suponina, a Moscow-based Middle East expert. “Haftar no doubt understands it will be very hard for him to win militarily alone. It’s better for him after strengthening his position on the ground to listen to advice and restart negotiations.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Henry Meyer in Moscow at hmeyer4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Gregory L. White at gwhite64@bloomberg.net, Tony Halpin </s> Russia objects to the British-drafted resolution blaming eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar for the latest flare-up in violence when his Libyan National Army (LNA) advanced to the outskirts of Tripoli earlier this month, diplomats said.

The United States and Russia both said on Thursday they could not support a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Libya at this time, diplomats said, as mortar bombs crashed down on a suburb of the Libyan capital, Tripoli.

The United States gave no reason for its position on the draft resolution, which would also call on countries with influence over the warring parties to ensure compliance and for unconditional humanitarian aid access in Libya, which has been gripped by anarchy since Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011.

The United States' UN mission declined to comment and the Russian U.N. mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the United States, Britain, France, Russia or China — the so-called permanent five — to pass. It was not immediately clear if Britain would persist with negotiations on a draft next week.

The United States and Russia made their positions clear during a closed-door council briefing by UN Libya envoy Ghassan Salame, who diplomats said appealed for a ceasefire, warning that weapons were pouring into the country and it was heading toward a serious humanitarian situation.

The U.S. reluctance to support Security Council action is in contrast to Washington's earlier public opposition to Haftar's offensive, which began while UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was visiting Tripoli.

Some UN diplomats have suggested the United States might be trying to buy time as President Donald Trump's administration works out how to deal with the latest developments in Libya.

"I think there are a range of views in Washington on the policy side and they haven't reconciled them and they're not entirely certain where the president is on it," said a senior UN diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"The American system is trying to evaluate all the scenarios and work out which one is in America's best interest and just hasn't done that yet," the diplomat said.

Concern

Haftar's forces predicted victory within days, but Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj's internationally recognized government has bogged them down in southern suburbs with help from armed groups from various western Libyan factions.

A united Security Council informally expressed concern on April 5, calling on all forces to de-escalate and halt military activity and specifically calling out the LNA.

In the following days, the council was unable, however, to issue a more formal statement, diplomats said, as Russia objected to a reference to the LNA, while the United States said it could not agree to a text that did not mention Haftar's forces.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo then said in a statement on April 7 that "we have made clear that we oppose the military offensive by Khalifa Haftar's forces and urge the immediate halt to these military operations against the Libyan capital."

Haftar enjoys the backing of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which view him as an anchor to restore stability and combat Islamist militants, while most Western powers have supported Serraj.

Trump met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on April 9.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian spoke with Pompeo about Libya on Thursday and both agreed on the need for a "rapid" ceasefire and return to the U.N-led political process, the French foreign ministry said in a statement. Paris has given Haftar support in the past. </s> The United States says it is “deeply concerned” about a battle near Libya’s capital, Tripoli. and is seeking an “immediate halt” to an offensive against the city by commander Khalifa Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA).

 

 “We have made clear that we oppose the military offensive by Khalifa Haftar’s forces and urge the immediate halt to these military operations against the Libyan capital," U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement from Washington late on April 7.

 

 According to the Health Ministry of Libya’s UN-backed government of National Accord, 11 people were killed and 23 wounded by fighting on April 7 in the southern part of Tripoli between government forces and Haftar's Russia-backed forces. The ministry did not give details about whether the casualties were civilians or fighters.

 

 Before those casualties were announced, the Tripoli-based government said at least 23 people had been killed and 27 wounded on both sides, including civilians, since fighting broke out around the capital on April 4.

 

 Casualties from fighting on April 7 were announced after Haftar’s forces said they carried out an air strike near Tripoli Airport on the southern outskirts of the capital, escalating the battle despite calls for a truce from the United Nations.

 

 Meanwhile, forces of the internationally backed Prime Minister Fayez Serraj said on April 7 that they launched a counterattack against Haftar’s fighters, codenamed “Operation Volcano of Anger,” in a bid to “cleanse all Libyan cities from aggressors and illegitimate forces.”

 

 Haftar’s forces are allied with a self-declared administration in Libya’s eastern city of Tobruk that is a rival to Serraj’s unity government.

 

 Russia has been a key supporter of Haftar, along with Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

 

 France’s AFP news agency reports that Russia on April 7 blocked a formal UN Security Council statement in line with Pompeo’s call for Haftar’s forces to halt their advance on Tripoli.

 

 That draft statement also "called for those who undermine Libya's peace and security to be held to account,” AFP reported.

 

 Security Council diplomats told AFP that Moscow insisted that the formal statement urge all Libyan forces to stop fighting, but the United States opposed that proposed change.

 

 The battle for Tripoli marks a sharp escalation of a power struggle that has gone on since longtime Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Qaddafi was overthrown in 2011.

 

 In another sign of the deteriorating situation, the United States said on April 7 it has temporarily withdrawn some of its forces from the country due to "security conditions on the ground.”

 

 A small contingent of American troops has been in Libya in recent years to help local forces combat Islamic State (IS) extremists and Al-Qaeda militants, as well as to protect diplomatic facilities.

 

 "The security realities on the ground in Libya are growing increasingly complex and unpredictable," said U.S. Marine Corps General Thomas Waldhauser, the head of U.S. Africa Command.

 

 "Even with an adjustment of the force, we will continue to remain agile in support of existing U.S. strategy, “ Waldhauser said.

 

 He did not provide details on the number of U.S. troops that have been withdrawn or on how many remain within the country.



 With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa, and BBC </s> MOSCOW – Russia calls on warring parties in Libya to return to the negotiating table and resolve disputes peacefully. Lev Dengov, head of the contact group on intra-Libyan settlement at the Foreign Ministry and the State Duma, explained to Russian media.

The diplomat also said that the aggravation of the situation occurred two weeks before the planned conference. Representatives of Tripoli, headed by the leader of the Government of National Accord Faiz Sarraj, and delegates from the Parliament in Tobruk under the leadership of the Commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Khalifa Haftar were invited. The special representative noted that Libyans are seriously afraid of foreign intervention and the repetition of the 2011 scenario.

The escalation of the situation in Libya began on April 4 – General Khalifa Haftar, who heads the country’s eastern provinces controlled by the national government in Tobruk, announced the start of a military “operation to liberate Tripoli” and called on residents of the city to voluntarily surrender and go to his side.

After the video message, in which Khalifa Haftar called upon the people of Tripoli to “lay down their arms and raise the white flag,” Prime Minister Faiz Sarraj ordered the troops to be fully operational in order to protect civilians. Military aircraft were scrambled.

As Russian contact-group representative Lev Dengov explains, Moscow is concerned about the aggravation of the situation and calls on both sides to resolve the disputes that have arisen by peaceful means.

“We urge Tobruk and Tripoli to avoid bloodshed.”Throughout this time, our country has maintained contacts with all parties to the conflict – with representatives of Tobruk, Tripoli, and Misurata. Therefore, to say that we support any one side is unfair. We urge the parties to return to a productive peaceful dialogue, to the positions stated during the Palermo conference,” the special representative said.

“The most important thing is to prevent foreign intervention so that the conflict can be resolved without the involvement of third actors,” he added.

“There is a growing concern among the residents of Tripoli that the events of eight years ago may repeat,” the politician said.

FRN assesses that these comments come as a form of diplomatic cover. While it is certainly logical that Russia does not want foreign intervention outside of their own efforts, it is also clear that Russia has overall be en favoring Haftar’s forces from Tobruk. He has already united the vast majority of Libya, and Sirte, Misurata, and Tripoli remain the only areas in control of Sarraj. Sarraj is favored by the west, and is recognized by the UN. However, he is backed by Al Qaeda-type formations, and has been unable to bring stability, let alone economic growth to the war-torn country. This creates a delicate scenario for Russia.

Prior to this, on April 4, speaking at the Libyan Youth Forum, General Haftar said that the political crisis in the country would be resolved already this month by creating a single government. At the time however, experts did not accept the words of Haftar as a possible threat to the authorities in Tripoli – in mid-April it was planned to hold a national conference at which talks were expected between representatives of the East, the West, as well as southern provinces and Misurata, the third largest force in the country, not controlled by Sarraj, nor Haftar. However, it is understood that Misurata sees their fate tied to Sarraj and Tripoli. Should Tripoli be unified with the rest of Libya under Haftar, then Misurata would have no options.

In February, Haftar’s forces seized the largest oil field in Libya, al-Sharara, without encountering much resistance from Tripoli or Misurata. Then there were reports in the press that the army was moving to the south-west of the country, subordinating more and more new areas. Given that the LNA already controls most of the coast, where large export terminals are located, it is safe to say that deliveries of Libyan oil abroad are now almost completely in the hands of Haftar.

The intervention never stopped. “American aviation still strikes at terrorist formations,” the political scientist noted. – This situation is unstable, since there are two centers of power and many different groups that have their own armed structures. And it can not last forever. Will Haftar have enough strength to extend control to the whole country? Before that, nobody could do it.

According to Senator Alexei Pushkov, due to the multiplicity of centers of power in Libya, virtually no Western state has enough authority in Libyan affairs in order to get some kind of compromise from them.

The last round of peace talks between the two opposing camps was held in late February. Then, in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, Faiz Saraj and Khalifa Haftar held talks, at which the parties addressed the most important issues of intra-Libyan settlement. In particular, they reaffirmed their commitment to hold national parliamentary elections in the spring. This idea was expressed during last year’s Palermo Conference by the UN Special Representative for Libya Gassan Salame. It was supposed that the elections would put an end to the existing dual power in the country – according to their results a single parliament was to be formed.

The protracted crisis in Libya is a consequence of the direct and illegal intervention of NATO in the affairs of the country, which led to chaos, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

“As a result, this country was plunged into chaos, became a source of regional instability, a hotbed of terrorism,” said Lavrov in an interview with the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram before going to Cairo.

The situation in Libya again escalated in early April. The commander of the Libyan National Army, Marshal Khalifa Haftar, announced the launch of an offensive on Tripoli to dismiss the government of national consensus led by Fayez Sarraj, which he considers terrorist.

In turn, in the Libyan capital declared full combat readiness.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at a press conference in Tripoli called on the parties to avoid military clashes.

The UN Security Council supported the Secretary General and announced his intention to bring to justice those responsible for the escalation of the conflict.

In 2011, the United States and the European Union supported the Libyan rebels and promoted the coup d’etat “the Arab spring”, in which the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was killed, and in terms of the number of victims this conflict became the largest in the Middle East, not counting the war in Syria.

So far, clashes continue in the country, besides, dual power has reigned there – a parliament elected by the people sits in the eastern city of Tobruk, and the government of Sarraj, formed with the support of the United Nations and Europe, sits in Tripoli. </s> UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States and Russia both said on Thursday they could not support a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Libya at this time, diplomats said, as mortar bombs crashed down on a suburb of the Libyan capital, Tripoli.

Russia objects to the British-drafted resolution blaming eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar for the latest flare-up in violence when his Libyan National Army (LNA) advanced to the outskirts of Tripoli earlier this month, diplomats said.

The United States gave no reason for its position on the draft resolution, which would also call on countries with influence over the warring parties to ensure compliance and for unconditional humanitarian aid access in Libya, which has been gripped by anarchy since Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011.

The United States’ U.N. mission declined to comment and the Russian U.N. mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the United States, Britain, France, Russia or China - the so-called permanent five - to pass. It was not immediately clear if Britain would persist with negotiations on a draft next week.

The United States and Russia made their positions clear during a closed-door council briefing by U.N. Libya envoy Ghassan Salame, who diplomats said appealed for a ceasefire, warning that weapons were pouring into the country and it was heading toward a serious humanitarian situation.

The U.S. reluctance to support Security Council action is in contrast to Washington’s earlier public opposition to Haftar’s offensive, which began while U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was visiting Tripoli.

Some U.N. diplomats have suggested the United States might be trying to buy time as President Donald Trump’s administration works out how to deal with the latest developments in Libya.

“I think there are a range of views in Washington on the policy side and they haven’t reconciled them and they’re not entirely certain where the president is on it,” said a senior U.N. diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“The American system is trying to evaluate all the scenarios and work out which one is in America’s best interest and just hasn’t done that yet,” the diplomat said.

Haftar’s forces predicted victory within days, but Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj’s internationally recognized government has bogged them down in southern suburbs with help from armed groups from various western Libyan factions.

A united Security Council informally expressed concern on April 5, calling on all forces to de-escalate and halt military activity and specifically calling out the LNA.

In the following days, the council was unable, however, to issue a more formal statement, diplomats said, as Russia objected to a reference to the LNA, while the United States said it could not agree to a text that did not mention Haftar’s forces.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo then said in a statement on April 7 that “we have made clear that we oppose the military offensive by Khalifa Haftar’s forces and urge the immediate halt to these military operations against the Libyan capital.”

Haftar enjoys the backing of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which view him as an anchor to restore stability and combat Islamist militants, while most Western powers have supported Serraj.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian spoke with Pompeo about Libya on Thursday and both agreed on the need for a “rapid” ceasefire and return to the U.N-led political process, the French foreign ministry said in a statement. Paris has given Haftar support in the past. </s> The United States and Russia both said on Thursday they could not support a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Libya at this time, diplomats said, as mortar bombs crashed down on a suburb of the Libyan capital, Tripoli.

Russia objects to the British-drafted resolution blaming eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar for the latest flare-up in violence when his Libyan National Army (LNA) advanced to the outskirts of Tripoli earlier this month, diplomats said.

The United States gave no reason for its position on the draft resolution, which would also call on countries with influence over the warring parties to ensure compliance and for unconditional humanitarian aid access in Libya. The United States’ UN mission declined to comment and the Russian UN mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the United States, Britain, France, Russia or China – the so-called permanent five – to pass. It was not immediately clear if Britain would persist with negotiations on a draft next week.

The United States and Russia made their positions clear during a closed-door council briefing by UN Libya envoy Ghassan Salame, who diplomats said appealed for a ceasefire, warning that weapons were pouring into the country and it was heading toward a serious humanitarian situation.

The US reluctance to support Security Council action is in contrast to Washington’s earlier public opposition to Haftar’s offensive, which began while UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was visiting Tripoli.

Some UN diplomats have suggested the United States might be trying to buy time as President Donald Trump’s administration works out how to deal with the latest developments in Libya.

“I think there is a range of views in Washington on the policy side and they haven’t reconciled them and they’re not entirely certain where the president is on it,” said a senior UN diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“The American system is trying to evaluate all the scenarios and work out which one is in America’s best interest and just hasn’t done that yet,” the diplomat said.

Haftar’s forces predicted victory within days, but Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj’s government has bogged them down in southern suburbs with help from armed groups from various western Libyan factions.

A united Security Council informally expressed concern on April 5, calling on all forces to de-escalate and halt military activity and specifically calling out the LNA.

In the following days, the council was unable, however, to issue a more formal statement, diplomats said, as Russia objected to a reference to the LNA, while the United States said it could not agree to a text that did not mention Haftar’s forces.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo then said in a statement on April 7 that “we have made clear that we oppose the military offensive by Khalifa Haftar’s forces and urge the immediate halt to these military operations against the Libyan capital.”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian spoke with Pompeo about Libya on Thursday and both agreed on the need for a “rapid” ceasefire and return to the UN-led political process, the French foreign ministry said in a statement. Paris has given Haftar support in the past.
Russia blocks a United Nations Security Council statement calling on Libyan Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar to immediately halt the Libyan National Army's offensive on Tripoli, because it wants the UN statement to also apply to pro-GNA forces, including Islamist militias from Misrata.