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Libya: We have become a platform for settling regional scores

October 17, 2014 at 4:41 pm

Libya only has one legitimate government and one legitimate parliament, not two, the Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammed Al-Dairi said.

In an interview with London-based newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Al-Dairi called upon the international community to recognise the legitimacy of the Libyan government and to work together to help find a solution that would bring the country out of its crisis. The foreign minister stressed that his country is the victim of “regional conflict and settling of scores as well as the gains made by a select few”.

Al-Dairi believes that the way to remove Libya from its current crisis is “to reach an agreement from within the House of Representatives and to recognise its legitimacy. The government must then return to Tripoli, as that is its natural place, and it must resume its normal responsibilities as soon as possible”.

In response to Libya’s request to Egypt to help secure its eastern border, Al-Dairi said: “We ask this of all our fellow neighbours, including Chad and Niger. We have been doing this since 2012. The truth is that we would like to secure our borders and coordinate with all of our neighbouring countries. We would also like to build upon the capabilities of the Libyan army. We want to dispel the confusion surrounding foreign interference, which seems to be occupying the Arab and international media.”

In response to the question as to whether or not the government in Tripoli communicates with the second government in Bayda, Al-Dairi said: “The truth is that we only communicate with elected parliamentary representatives. There is only one legitimate government in Libya and therefore, there aren’t two governments.”