Libya's high council of state urges meeting to end political division

TRIPOLI, April 11 (Xinhua) -- The newly-elected Head of the Libyan High Council of State Khaled al-Meshri on Wednesday called for an urgent meeting with the eastern parliament to end the country's political division.

Al-Meshri said in a televised speech that the meeting with the speaker of the eastern-based parliament Agila Saleh is a "priority" to bring together the dialogue teams of the two councils.

He also expressed regret over the continued deterioration of the security and economic situation in the country "due to failure of some parties to meet the requirements of the agreement."

The Tobruk-based eastern parliament did not endorse a UN-sponsored political agreement signed in December 2015 under which the High Council of State was formed.

Al-Meshri also mentioned the continued division of the sovereign and military institutions, which led to the non-activation of mutual powers between the House of Representatives (eastern-based parliament) and the High Council of State."

"As we realize the seriousness of this stage, we are going to be in close contact with the parties involved in dealing with monetary policy to stop wasting public money," he said.

Al-Meshri confirmed that he would work to activate transitional justice, calling on efforts to establish a permanent constitution.

Libya's High Council of State on Sunday elected al-Meshri, a leader of the Justice and Building Party and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, as the new head of the council, replacing Abdarrahman Swehli. Enditem