UN envoy urges Libyan parties to return to dialogue

The UN envoy to Libya, Bernardino Leon,  on Wednesday called on Libyan parties to return to the negotiating table of peace talks taking place in the Moroccan town of Skhirat within two days to solve any outstanding issues before signing the final agreement on 20 September.

“We continue to call on the parties to return to Skhirat. They must carry on their work because neither Tobruk nor Tripoli managed to make it but we hope that the conclusion of these talks will be positive and that the parties will come back,” Leon told reporters.

The UN envoy tried to put on a brave face regarding troubled north African country, saying that the parties to the conflict have never been so close to achieving a political solution to the ongoing cycle of violence in Libya.

Leon stressed that “differences are a normal thing and often accompany the final moments before the signing of a historic agreement.”

The Spanish diplomat appealed to both sides to compromise so that they could tackle the rise of Daesh  and Libya’s emergence as a smuggling hub for migrants risking their lives to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.

“Of course if there’s a decision – be it on 20 September, before then, or in the days that follow – not to continue the process, then of course my time as representative and special envoy will be over; but we’re not there yet,” he said.