ANSD : France to push Libya accord at Paris meet

FRI 19 - 4 - 2024

Date: May 24, 2018
Source: The Daily Star

France to push Libya accord at Paris meet

PARIS/CAIRO: France plans to hold an international meeting in Paris with Libyan political leaders to push for an agreement on holding U.N.-backed elections this year, according to three diplomats aware of the initiative.

U.N. Special Representative Ghassan Salame has been leading the latest push to unify and stabilize Libya, seven years after the uprising that toppled and killed then-leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Salame told the U.N. Security Council on May 21 that he had given up trying to amend a stalled 2015 peace deal and was instead focusing on holding elections this year.

Under President Emmanuel Macron, France has tried to play a bigger role in coaxing Libya’s factions to end the turmoil, which has let Islamist militants gain a foothold and allowed migrant smugglers to flourish. According to a diplomatic cable sent to several countries, including the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, Italy, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Libya’s neighbors, Macron would convene the meeting “very soon” in the French capital.

“Our objective is to get an agreement between Libyan parties under the auspices of the U.N. special representative to quickly adopt the necessary arrangements for the staging of elections as soon as 2018,” the cable read.

It added that the agreement was put together with Salame and after consultation with the Libyan parties. Prime Minster Fayez al-Sarraj, eastern Libya commander Khalifa Haftar, President of the Eastern House of Representatives Aguila Saleh and President of the High Council of State Khaled Al-Mishri have all been invited.

Two diplomats said the meeting might take place as early as May 29.

Neither Macron’s office nor the Foreign Ministry responded to requests for comment.

Meanwhile, Daesh (ISIS) claimed responsibility for a car bombing at a checkpoint in eastern Libya that killed at least two security personnel Tuesday.

Libyan officials said the attack, which left two others wounded, took place at the southern entrance of Ajdabiya, west of Benghazi.

The town is controlled by Haftar’s forces, which forced Islamist militants out in 2016.

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