The UN envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame said the United Nations is seeking “international umbrella” under which it can guarantee that an agreement can be reached by Libyan conflict parties to regain stability in the country.
Speaking to Al-Arabiya TV Channel, Salame said the preparations for Berlin conference on Libya are underway with the aim of ending the conflict, saying the commander of the Libyan National Army Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar agrees to holding Berlin conference and that there will be a political meeting in Berlin before the end of 2019 as part of the preparations before setting a date for the main conference.
Salame also criticized the actions of UN Security Council, saying they were very “sterile” and that is why Berlin conference has been presented to rally countries around a unified stance toward Libya that can bring about an end to the war in Tripoli that started last April.
Salame revealed five main points that have been approved by international powers in the past Berlin preparatory meetings; mainly: return to political agreement, arms embargo, ceasefire, economic reforms, and security arrangements in Tripoli. He added that time is of an essence as to the implementation of reforms in Libya.
“International differences on Libya are the main reasons hindering the ceasefire. Now, the US delegation has succeeded in its recent meetings with Libyan parties and reached encouraging results.” Salame said.
He added that the US delegation managed over the last few days to bridge some of the gap between the two warring parties.
Salame indicated that foreign intervention in Libya had reached top levels as arms’ firms and mercenaries as well as experts operating drones are all taking part on behalf certain countries, without naming them.
On elections in Libya, Salame said Libya is still not ready for Presidential and E
Parliamentary elections but the UNSMIL is working on holding municipal elections in different cities, adding that when stability prevails in Libya, elections can be held.
