French President Emmanuel Macron said, Tuesday, that France will reopen its embassy next week in Tripoli, in a sign that stability is gradually returning to the country after years of conflict.
The Head of the Presidential Council, Mohammed Menfi, confirmed in a press conference from Paris that, starting from Monday, the French embassy in Libya will open, after it was closed in July 2014.
According to what was quoted by Agence France-Presse, Macron said: “I want here to show you all my support and France’s support for the new unified Libyan authorities that emerged from the transitional process.”
“We have a debt towards Libya and the Libyans for a decade of chaos,” Macron added, saying that regional stability would be impossible without peace in Libya.
Macron strongly criticized the Turkish military intervention in Libya, and Macron insisted that the priority is the withdrawal of Turkish forces and Syrian militias loyal to Ankara, as well as the Russian mercenaries who are said to be on the ground.
“We must do everything so that the foreign forces on the ground in Libya leave as soon as possible,” Macron said.
He stressed that “the Turkish and Russian fighters, those foreign fighters who were sent, or others, must leave Libya as soon as possible because the Libyan armed forces alone are legitimate.”
