Libyan Speaker to meet Egyptian counterpart Sunday

CAIRO - 12 January 2020: Libyan Speaker Aguila Saleh and accompanying delegation will meet on Sunday with the General Committee of the House of Representatives, and Egyptian counterpart Ali Abdel Aal in Cairo, Deputy Speaker Suleiman Wahdan tells Egypt Today.

The meetings will stress Egypt’s firm stance on the Libyan crisis, Wahdan states adding, “if there are disagreements upon two governerments, there is one army that is the Libyan National Army.” The deputy speaker also urges the Arab tribes in the neighboring country to back the Libyan National Army.

The plenary session kicked off in the presence of Saleh who was welcomed by Abdel Aal in the opening speech.

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives stressed on January 5 that the Turkish interference in the Libyan domestic affairs is a new sort of invasion and considered as a practice of hegemony on the Libyan territories.

The committee's remarks came on Sunday during an extraordinary meeting, headed by MP Karim Darwish, to study the unprecedented Turkish escalation, which undermines regional and international efforts aiming at reaching a political settlement for the years-running Libyan conflict.

The Turkish parliament's approval to send military troops to Libya contradicts the determinants of international legitimacy and represents a blatant violation of the unity of the Libyan territories, it said.

Ankara's escalation threatens the Egyptian and Arab national security, a matter, which requires taking all the measures possible to maintain the Arab interests, the committee pointed out.

It called on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities towards these serious developments that destabilize the whole region, especially the East Mediterranean area.

It lauded the Libyan tribes' national stances in rejection of Turkey's meddling in their country's affairs, stressing the Libyan people's unity is the only way to deter the Turkish invasion.

The committee valued the Libyan parliament's decision on refusing the agreement signed between Anakara and Fayez al Sarraj.

It also urged the Foreign Ministry to support the Libyan file in the United Nations, the Security Council, and international events.

Additional contribution by MENA