Paris call for foreign troops, mercenaries to leave Libya
Paris informed the international envoy of its support the efforts of the United Nations to end the political crisis in Libya, and called for the necessity of the departure of foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya, confirming his country’s support for international efforts to end the political crisis and end foreign interference in this country.
A statement issued by the French Foreign Ministry said, Friday: that Jean-Yves Le Drian discussed with the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Libya Ján Kubiš on ways to support the political transition.
The statement added that Le Drian stressed the importance of a real transition to the elections scheduled in the end of the year.
The statement stressed the importance of expediting the formation and installation of an inclusive and representative government, and the need to fully implement the ceasefire on October 23, 2020, including the departure of foreign forces and mercenaries.
This comes while Ankara is delaying the withdrawal of its forces and its mercenary militias from Libya.
The presidency of the Turkish regime announced that its forces will remain in Libya as long as the bilateral military agreement is “in force” between the two sides, despite the formation of a new Libyan government.
Special Envoy for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSML) Ján Kubiš continued his introductory calls with Libyan interlocutors. He spoke with Mr. Khaled al-Meshri, President of the High Council of State, Mr. Ahmed Maetig, Deputy President of the Presidency Council, and Mr.
Fathi Bashaga, the Minister of Interior. He acknowledged their work to achieve progress in political, economic, and security files, and thanked them for their active participation in the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF).
He sought their views on the next steps to ensure the swift formation of the interim government, and further advances in the economic, social, and security areas, in creating unified structures and authorities, in moving forward on national reconciliation, as well as on implementation of the Roadmap with a view to holding national elections on 24 December 2021.
Special Envoy Kubiš also spoke to General Khlifa Haftar to discuss developments and priorities, in particular in the security file, where he welcomed his support to the implementation of the ceasefire.
Special Envoy Kubis also had consultations with Political Rnvoys/representatives of France and Italy, and Permanent Representatives (PR) to the UN in New York of Libya, Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Turkey, France, UK, and PRs to the UN in Geneva of Libya and Switzerland, as well as with Libya Ambassador to Switzerland.
Special Envoy Kubiš continued with his consultations with international interlocutors following his previous contacts with Minister of Foreign Affair of Morocco, Mr. Nasser Bourita, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany, Mr. Heiko Maas, Minister of State of the United Kingdom, Mr. James Cleverly and with high political representatives of the League of Arab States, Secretary-General Mr. Ahmed Aboul Ghait, the African Union, Commissioner for Peace and Security Mr. Smaїl Chergui, the NATO, Deputy Secretary General Mr. Mircea Geoana, and the European Union, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Mr. Joseph Borell’s Head of Cabinet.
This week, Special Envoy Kubis consulted with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, Mr. Sameh Shukri and his team, Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, of the Russian Federation, Mr. Sergey Lavrov, of France, Mr. Jean-Yves Le Drian, and separately with his team, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tunisia, Mr. Othman al-Jerandi, and Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Ambassador Takahashi Katsuhiko, as well as with political directors and/or ambassadors of UK, USA, France, Italy, and Germany to Libya, and Qatar and Russian Federation Permanent Representatives to the United Nations in New York.
