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UN Special Representative for Libya to hold talks in Istanbul, Geneva

Xinhua, September 1, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya, Bernardino Leon, will hold consultations on Tuesday in Istanbul ahead of a planned round of dialogue in Geneva this Thursday, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) announced on Tuesday.

According to the UNSMIL announcement, the Special Representative will meet with representatives of the General National Congress to discuss ways to move forward the Dialogue process with a view to reaching a peaceful solution to the political crisis and military conflict in Libya.

"The meeting in Istanbul will discuss GNC concerns with respect to the political agreement and ways to overcome them," the announcement said.

Earlier on 27-28 August a round of political dialogue was convened in Skhirat of Morocco, with discussions focusing on the way forward with an urgency to finalizing the Libyan Political Agreement in the coming few days.

During the latest talks the participants agreed that it is high time to conclude the talks that have been under way for seven months and there was reportedly consensus to make the final push to expedite the dialogue to conclude the agreement according to the timelines they committed to in the Geneva round of dialogue on 11-12 August 2015.

As a result, the participants also agreed to hold a round of political dialogue at the United Nations Office at Geneva on 3-4 September 2015 to complete the discussions with a view to finalizing the Libyan Political Agreement for it to be ready for signing.

Leon expressed hope that the General National Congress (GNC) will rejoin the talks in Geneva after staying away from the talks in Skhirat following the resignation of two members of its dialogue team and its request for time to reorganize their team.

Libya, a major oil producer in North Africa, has been witnessing a frayed political process after former leader Muammar Gaddafi was toppled during the 2011 political turmoil.

The country is now deadlocked in an infighting between the pro-secular army and Islamist militants, which has led to a security vacuum for homegrown extremism to brew.

The UN has brokered several rounds of dialogues between the conflicting parties since last September, but clashes persisted despite a truce agreed by the warring factions. Endit