EU says ceasefire hold is ‘good news’ for Libya

The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the unbroken ceasefire in Libya was good news after G7 foreign ministers discussed the country’s future in London.

Mr Borrell said he was optimistic about Libya, where a truce last October was followed by the establishment of a unity government in March.

Following the G7’s talks on Libya, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had renewed Washington’s support for new elections in December.

He also called for the immediate withdrawal of foreign forces, after the Biden administration in January accused Russia and Turkey of breaching the ceasefire deal that ordered all foreign troops and mercenaries out of Libya. “We stand with the Libyan people to find a UN-facilitated political solution to the conflict,” Mr Blinken said on Tuesday.

Foreign ministers discussed a series of issues in London, including China, Russia and Iran, but Mr Borrell said Libya was one of the bright spots.

“Libya is good news. The ceasefire is still lasting and I think that we can be optimistic about the situation,” he said.

“So, you see, in general terms things are not going better, but there are some places, Iran can be one of them, Libya another, where we can have certain hope that things will improve.”

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab also held talks on Libya and the Eastern Mediterranean with his Italian counterpart, Luigi Di Maio.

The Italian Foreign Ministry said Mr Raab and Mr Di Maio had given their support to a “common positive agenda” on the region.

Italy holds the rotating presidency of the G20, while Britain currently leads the G7, which was holding its final day of talks in London yesterday.

Italy, the former colonial power in Libya, is trying to reassert its role as a prominent ally of Tripoli.

Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi visited Tripoli last month and urged Libya’s interim leader Abdul Hamid Dbeibah to ensure that the ceasefire held.

Mr Dbeibah took office in March at the head of a UNbacked unity government with a mandate to prepare for the December election.

It replaced two warring governments that had ruled eastern and western regions of Libya, which had been in turmoil since the fall of Muammar Qaddafi in 2011.

One of the rival administrations, in Tripoli, had relied heavily on Turkish military backing and Syrian mercenaries provided by Ankara.

They supported the Tripoli government against an offensive launched by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who was backed by powers including Russia and Egypt.

Tripoli on Monday urged Turkey to co-operate over the withdrawal of troops from Libya

G7 diplomats also discussed Russia, China, Syria, Iran and Myanmar during their threeday talks in London, their first in-person meeting since the onset of the pandemic.

G7 leaders will meet in southwest England next month.