World leaders are meeting with rival Libyan factions in Berlin on Sunday, in an attempt to negotiate a ceasefire in the North African nation's ongoing civil war. The meeting comes amid jockeying by outside powers for influence in the country.

Russia and Turkey have become key players in Libya, backing opposing sides in the conflict. Turkey supports the UN-backed government of Libyan prime minister Fayez al-Sarraj. Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and others are backing Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army, the LNA, which controls most of the country. 

Last April, the LNA launched an offensive against the capital Tripoli, effectively the last bastion of support for the government. The two sides failed to agree on a ceasefire agreement at talks in Moscow last week.

Russian president Vladimir Putin and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan will attend the talks in Berlin where they will be joined by Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, French president Emmanuel Macron, British prime minister Boris Johnson, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and others. German chancellor Angela Merkel is hosting the talks.

Blockade, ceasefire and embargo

On Saturday, forces loyal to Haftar blockaded several Libyan ports to halt oil exports, a critical source of revenue for the Libyan government. Libya's National Oil Company said the blockade would cause losses of $55 million per day. Haftar's forces said the move was a response to Turkey's decision to send troops in support of government forces.

German foreign minister Heiko Maas travelled to Benghazi, Libya on Thursday to meet Haftar, hoping to persuade him to support the fragile ceasefire. "We have to make sure Libya doesn't become a second Syria," Maas said.

Libya has been in turmoil since its former leader Muammar Gaddafi was killed in 2011, with the support of NATO-backed forces.

In December, Turkey signed a controversial agreement with the Libyan government, which would allow Ankara to undertake major gas exploration off Libya's Mediterranean coast. That agreement would likely be nullified if Haftar's forces prevail.

In addition to a ceasefire, the German government hopes to broker a commitment from conference attendees to honor a United Nations embargo against sending arms to Libya, as well as an intention to reduce further outside interference.

The civil war has had a destabilizing effect on neighboring countries, and Libya has become a center of people-smuggling operations for migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. The United Nations says the conflict has killed hundreds of people and forced thousands to flee.