Qatar FM: Libya’s Haftar only considers political solution when he is losing

Libya’s renegade General Khalifa Haftar “does not care about the political process except when he loses” militarily, Qatar’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said yesterday.

In an interview with French newspaper, Le Monde, the official commented on Haftar’s failure in his war to control the capital, Tripoli, from the internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), saying: “We have been saying since the Skhirat Agreement in 2015 that the conflict in Libya should be resolved through political process, not by coups and military aggression”, adding that “Haftar has always preferred the use of violence” and only cared about the political process when he loses, “but he returns to using force again”.

“If there is a lesson to be learned, it is that the international community must comply with the political process, within the framework of international law and the United Nations resolutions. This would save the lives of many Libyans as well as the country’s resources,” he added.

Earlier on Saturday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Haftar’s ally, announced a “unilateral initiative” to end the ongoing conflict in Libya which includes a ceasefire starting today. The initiative was accepted by Haftar and Aguila Saleh, speaker of the Tobruk-based parliament.

The Egyptian initiative came after the Libyan army affiliated with the GNA defeated Haftar’s forces and retook areas previously under their control including vital oil fields.

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