Egypt, Bahrain support cease-fire initiative in Libya

CAIRO – 5 September 2020:  Egypt and Bahrain have agreed on the necessity to preserve the call for cease-fire initiative in Libya, which call for electing a new presidential council.

In a meeting between Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Bahraini counterpart Abdul Latif al Zayani, who started a visit to Cairo on Saturday, they affirmed their support for a political solution that preserves the sovereignty and unity of Libya, and confronts terrorism and destructive foreign interference, according to a communique issued by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Saturday.

On August 21, 2020, both of the Presidential Council and the House of Representatives issued statements to announce a cease-fire and stopping all military operations in all Libyan territories.

The announcement was welcomed by several countries including Egypt’s president Abdel Fatah al Sisi, who welcomed the cease-fire initiative that has been declared by Libyan Speaker of the House of Representatives Agila Saleh and head of the Presidency Council Fayez Al-Sarraj , as a way for the departure of all mercenaries in Libya. Both Libyan leaders called for demilitarize the oil-rich area of Jafa-Sirte. The Libyan government, headed by Sarraj, called for holding Presidential and Parliamentary elections in March, Al-Arabiya reported.

During the Saturday meeting, both Egyptian and Bahraini ministers welcomed any initiatives aimed at achieving a comprehensive and just peace for the Palestinian cause based on the international legitimate resolutions and based on the principle of the two-state solution with putting an end to annexing the Palestinian territories.

Shoukry praised Bahraini government’s caring for the Egyptian community during the crisis of the coronavirus pandemic. Both ministers also tackled a number of bilateral ties and ways of enhancing the relations between both countries.