ROME

NATO is ready to support Libya’s government led by Fayez al-Sarraj, the head of the military alliance said on Thursday.

In an interview with Italian daily La Repubblica, Jens Stoltenberg noted that NATO has 30 partners, which on many issues have different positions, but added that Turkey remains an important ally.

He also stressed that NATO is supporting the UN’s efforts for peaceful solution to conflicts both in Libya and Syria.

“In Libya there is an arms embargo that needs to be respected by all sides,” Stoltenberg said.

“However, this doesn't mean to put on the same level the forces led by [Khalifa] Haftar and the government of Fayez al-Sarraj, the only one recognized by the UN,” he stressed.

“For this reason, NATO is ready to give its support to the government of Tripoli,” he said.

The Libyan government, also known as the Government of National Accord (GNA), has been under attack by warlord Haftar’s armed forces since April 2019.

Haftar’s illegal forces in eastern Libya have launched several attacks to capture Tripoli, with more than 1,000 killed in the violence.

The Libyan government launched Operation Peace Storm on March 26 to counter attacks on the capital.

Following the ouster of late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya's new government was founded in 2015 under a UN-led political deal.