UAE supports Egypt’s Libya initiative
CAIRO: Voicing support for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s Libya initiative, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash on Monday called it a step toward a political solution.
“With the support of the United States National Security Council for the Egyptian initiative, Arab and international momentum for an immediate cease-fire, a withdrawal of foreign forces and a return to the political track is strengthened,” Gargash tweeted.
Libya has had no stable central authority since Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown by NATO-backed rebels in 2011. The country has been split since 2014 between rival administrations in its east and west.
The Egyptian initiative calls for negotiations in Geneva and the exit of all “foreign mercenaries” from Libya. The plan has garnered support from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Russia, Jordan and Bahrain.
Gargash said the international community cannot accept that fighting continues, and a comprehensive political solution is needed for all Libyan parties to the conflict.
The United States National Security Council on Sunday tweeted that it was encouraged by Egypt’s plan.
But the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) has rejected the initiative. In a series of rapid victories, the GNA has, with Turkish support, brought most of northwest Libya back under its control.
Despite the proposal by Egypt, which backs rival Libyan forces commanded by Khalifa Haftar, GNA forces on Monday pressed their advance.
El-Sisi on Monday discussed the latest developments in Libya with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over the phone. They expressed their resolve to ensure the launch of peace talks at the earliest.
A statement issued by the Kremlin said the Russian side praised Egypt’s diplomatic efforts to find a solution to the Libyan crisis.
Egypt’s proposal envisaged a cease-fire starting June 8. Haftar accepted it, as did Aguila Saleh, speaker of the country’s east-based Parliament.
But the militias fighting to defend Tripoli rejected the proposal, and are pushing eastward toward the coastal city of Sirte, a former stronghold of Daesh that Haftar’s forces captured in January.
Tripoli-based Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha said the GNA side would engage in political talks only after taking Sirte and the inland Jufra air base to the south.
Taking Sirte would open the gate for the Tripoli-allied militias to press even farther eastward, to potentially seize vital oil installations, terminals and oilfields that tribes allied with Haftar shut down earlier this year, cutting off Libya’s major source of income.
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