MOSCOW, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) --Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA), has requested a two-day pause to consider a deal on a Libyan settlement negotiated in Moscow, the Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

"Haftar accepted the final statement, but before signing, he took two days to discuss the document with leaders of LNA-supporting tribes," the statement made available to Xinhua reads.

While Haftar left Moscow without signing the draft of the final statement, the head of the UN-backed Libyan Government of National Accord Fayez al-Serraj did sign it.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference following the talks on Monday that Haftar "asked for a bit of extra time until tomorrow morning" to make a decision on signing the draft.

The main outcome of the meeting was an agreement in principle between the warring parties to indefinitely continue the cessation of hostilities, which creates a more favorable atmosphere for the Berlin Conference on Libya, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed that Berlin would host on January 19 a conference on the Libyan conflict settlement.

During the negotiations, the participants reaffirmed their commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Libya, it added.

Libya has been locked in a civil war following the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Several armed militias of different backgrounds have since emerged and have been fighting each other to take power, despite a peace deal signed by the warring parties in the Moroccan city of Skhirat in 2015. Enditem

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