Turkey has reservations about pulling troops from Libya but Russia has said it was willing to back a reciprocal withdrawal of foreign forces from the north African country, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday.
"There are still some reservations on the Turkish side but the Russia side has acknowledged that it could be done in a reciprocal way," she said.
"The elections on Dec. 24 play a decisive role. The preparations for the elections have to completed in such a way that in the end, the result is accepted."
Merkel was speaking at an international conference on Libya hosted by Paris.
The meeting, which includes the leaders of France, Libya, Germany and Egypt, as well as the U.S. vice president, is aimed at cementing world backing for the planned vote on Dec. 24 and efforts to remove foreign forces.
The elections are envisaged as a key moment in a UN-backed peace process to end a decade of violent chaos that has drawn in regional powers and undermined Mediterranean stability since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising against Moammar Gaddafi.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in a video message to the conference warned that "any party that deliberately undermines or sabotages peace must be held accountable".
Paris initially wanted the leaders of Russia and Turkey to attend. Turkey, which fears France wants to accelerate the departure of Turkish forces from Libya, has joined Moscow in sending lower level representatives.
The former Tripoli government had support from Turkish regular forces in Libya as advisers, and from Syrian fighters, the Turkish government has said.
Diplomats have said Turkey was unlikely to act before there were departures from the east.
