Libyan official calls for excluding Turkey, Qatar from any dialogue on Libya

CAIRO – 5 June 2018: Libyan Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam al-Badri called Saturday for excluding Turkey and Qatar from any political dialogue on Libya and preventing their interference in Libyan political affairs.

This came during a meeting held by Chairman of the Libyan House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh, to discuss the new arrangements made by the interim government and the Central Bank of Libya to improve the living standards of Libyan citizens.

Saleh announced the policies that Libyan interim government and the Central National Bank of Libya will follow to improve the living standards of Libyan citizens, in accordance with the outcomes of the Paris meeting that came during Libya's interim Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani’s tour.

Saleh lauded the efforts made by the interim government for establishing construction and service projects, stressing that the interim government is for all Libyans not only for a certain region.

In this regard, he discussed the ways to overcome the difficulties facing Derna and ways to liberate it from terrorist groups.

In the same context, Minister of Interior of the Interim Government in East Libya, Ibrahim Boshnaf, called for reviewing the draft of the constitution submitted by the constituent body.

An adviser of the head of Libya’s U.N.-recognized government based in Tripoli said on May 29 that Libya’s four rival leaders agreed on running presidential and parliamentary elections on December 10.

This came in a meeting hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace, with the aim of ending the Libyan crisis, in the presence of Libya’s four main rivals including, head of the Libyan High Council of State Khaled Mishri, General Commander of Libyan National Army Khalifa Heftar, Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, and speaker of the eastern House of Representatives Saleh.

Sarraj lauded the French ambitions to achieve stability in Libya, calling on all parties to assist Libya’s democratic process in order for it to succeed. Sarraj also commended all parties for reaching an agreement, “despite [of it] being late.”

“I called for stopping conflicts in all parts of the country. It is enough with the bloodshed,” Sarraj stated, adding that there is a need to stop the military escalation in the city of Derna as it threatens civilians’ lives, and to secure ways to provide civilians with essential needs and services. He also voiced rejection to all forms of terrorism and extremism.

Earlier in May, Heftar, stated that Derna will be declared terrorism-free soon, calling on soldiers to purge the city from terrorism, while keeping in consideration the safety of civilians. Derna is controlled by a coalition of Islamist militants and rebels known as the Derna Mujahideen Shura Council (DMSC).

Sarraj affirmed that agreements between Libyan rivals will never succeed unless negative intervention of some states in the Libyan affairs stops. He also called on the international community to take serious measures against those who try to obstruct the democratic path in Libya.

French president Macron described the meeting as historical, saying that all parties possess a sense of responsibility toward Libya, highlighting the need for commitment and speed to reach a political settlement in Libya.

Macron said it is the first time for these leaders to accept to cooperate and approve a joint declaration.