China expresses consent to Cairo Declaration on Libya

CAIRO – 28 June 2020: Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqyang expressed his country's consent to Cairo Declaration on Libya, and stressed China's support to the role of the Arab League in the crisis resolution process.

The envoy's statements came in a phone call with Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab League for International Policies Affairs KhaledHabas, according to a statement issued by the embassy on June 27.

On June 20, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi issued a warning to the militias affiliated to the Government of National Accord (GNA) and backed by Turkey to not advance towards Sirte and Al-Jafrah. The president described the site as a "red line" that if crossed, would prompt a "direct intervention" by Egypt, which is internationally legitimate.

That is because Egypt has been requested by the elected House of Representatives based in Tobruk and tribe chiefs, and because the UN Security Council on Libya and Berlin Conference provide a ban on arm supplies to armed groups and foreign intervention. Such provisions are violated by Turkey, which brought into Libya 15,000 Syrian mercenaries and sent 1,500 officers and military experts to co-command militias' operations rooms.

The GNA is an interim non-elected government that is recognized by the United Nations. In December 2019, it signed two MoUs with Turkey on defense and gas drilling eastern the Mediterranean.

The Libyan National Army (LNA) restored Sirte from militias in January 2020, and entered the outskirts of Tripoli and Misrata before retreating from Al-Watiyah that has an airbase, and Tarhouna town which was its last stronghold western the country.

On June 6, President Sisi, LNA Commander-in-Chief KhalifaHaftar, and Libyan Speaker AguilaSaleh announced from the Egyptian capital the Cairo Declaration offering a roadmap for the political solution.

* The initiative obliges all foreign parties to remove all foreign mercenaries nationwide,dismantle militias and handover of weapons to allow the LNA to cooperate with other security apparatuses to undertake their military duty as well as complete the path of the Military 5 + 5 Commission in Geneva.

* The initiative also aims to ensure a fair representation of all three regions of Libya in forming a presidential council, which will be elected by the Libyan people under the supervision of the United Nations for the first time in the country’s history.

* The Presidential Council shall take its decisions by a majority, except for sovereign decisions related to the armed forces, which shall be decided upon in the presence of the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.

* Each region should form an electoral college, whose members are chosen from the House of Representatives and the state alongside tribal elders and notables, taking into account the representation of women and youth.

* The United Nations must supervise the electoral complexes in general to ensure the integrity of the electoral process for selecting candidates for the Presidential Council.

* Each region must obtain a proportional number of portfolios according to the population.

The transitional period is set to take 18 months, and can be increased by a maximum period of six months, during which all Libyan state institutions are to be re-organized, especially the main economic institutions: the Central Bank, the National Oil Corporation and the Libyan Investment Corporation.

* The necessary executive measures must be taken to unify all economic and monetary institutions in eastern, southern and western Libya, and implement structural economic reforms, in addition to preventing Libyan funds from reaching the militias.