Britain ‘seeks to bring the main parties in Libya closer together’

Britain’s foreign secretary has said that Theresa May’s government seeks to bring the views of the two main parties in the Libyan conflict closer together. Boris Johnson made his comment as he announced Britain’s support for direct negotiations between the House of Representatives and the High Council of State (HCS), at a meeting with HCS leader Abdel Rahman Al-Sweihli.

“We will try to get two mini-teams of negotiators from both groups to sit together to bring their dispute to an end for the benefit of the Libyan people,” added the former London mayor.

According to the HCS press office, the meeting between Al-Sweihli and Johnson in Tripoli addressed relations between the two countries, ways to enhance them and issues of mutual interest. “They also discussed Britain’s role in supporting the peace efforts and regaining stability in Libya under the umbrella of the UN.”

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The HCS statement added that the foreign secretary stressed that there is a need to “intensify” British efforts, in coordination with the UN mission to put pressure on regional parties with influence over the Libyan issue and urge them to play a positive role in supporting the political agreement to achieve peace and stability.

As far as Al-Sweihli is concerned, Johnson’s presence in Tripoli is an “affirmation of the UK’s desire to support stability in Libya.” He noted that he welcomes all meetings between the Libyan parties in the context of lifting the suffering of the citizens and calming the situation in the country.

“We need to limit the negotiations to the HCS and House of Representatives,” he told Johnson, “and reduce the number of negotiating delegations to ensure that an agreement is reached quickly.” The teams would make limited amendments to receive a consensus from the parties in the political agreement. “It also ensures that we will not waste time on political manoeuvres by opening other tracks outside the framework of the political agreement,” Al-Sweihli concluded.