Libyan prime minister calls for ‘common vision’ ahead of crisis talks
TRIPOLI: The head of Libya’s UN-backed government, Fayez al-Sarraj, urged the international community to find a ‘common vision’ for the chaos-hit North African nation, ahead of crisis talks in Sicily next week.
In an exclusive interview with AFP at his unity government’s headquarters in Tripoli, Sarraj hit out at “negative interventions by some countries” in Libya, without naming them.
Libya has been beset by violence since dictator Muammar Gadaffi was ousted and killed in a Nato-backed uprising in 2011, with rival groups vying for territory and oil wealth.
Many Libyans put the country’s crisis down to rivalries between foreign governments – Western as well as Arab – who they say pursue their own narrow agendas by supporting one group against another.
Sarraj ‘saluted’ France for organising a conference in Paris in May that brought together the four main protagonists in Libyan politics, including himself.
He said he regretted that decisions taken at the conference, including a commitment to hold elections on Dec 10, had not been respected.
Sarraj’s Government of National Accord (GNA) was set up under a 2015 UN-brokered deal, but a rival administration based in the country’s east refuses to recognise its authority.
He criticised the rival parliament based in the east, saying it had failed to respect its commitment to carry out the preparations needed for elections.
When asked about the timing of elections, Sarraj said “any mentionofadatewithoutputtingin place a constitutional framework is a form of wishful thinking”.
The timetable divides the major powers.
While France has pushed for the December date, Libya’s former colonial ruler Italy, Russia and the United States have all opposed this.
“It is necessary to unify the international position with regard to Libya,” Sarraj said, calling for a ‘common vision’ for its future.
He said Italy and France should overcome their differences “so that there are no points of contention” between them.
The populist government that came to power in Rome in June has been openly critical of the French role in Libya, saying it was at least partly to blame for the current chaos. — AFP