Talks began in the Egyptian city of Hurghada on Monday between security and military delegations from eastern and western Libya, while Tunisia and Algeria stressed the need for a political solution to the Libyan crisis, away from foreign interference.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya said it was sponsoring the security and military talks that were launched in the Egyptian city of Hurghada, on the Red Sea.

The mission explained that these meetings come within the framework of "the ongoing talks of the 5 + 5 Joint Military Committee."

The mission expressed its gratitude to the Egyptian government for its efforts in facilitating the holding of these important talks, and for its generous hosting of delegations. It also thanked the two delegations who showed a positive attitude and interaction with the call to calm the situation in central Libya.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya hopes that these direct meetings will lead to positive results, provided that these results will be presented to the 5 + 5 joint military committee meetings.

For his part, Algerian Foreign Minister Sabri Boukadoum reiterated the congruence between his country's position and Tunisia on pushing for a political solution in Libya, away from foreign interference.

This came during a visit by Boukadoum, on Monday, to Tunisia, where he met his counterpart Othman al-Jarandi, Tunisian President Qais Saeed, and Prime Minister Hisham El-Mechichi.

The Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs affirmed that his country and Tunisia agreed on the Libyan crisis (Getty Images)

The political solution


The Tunisian presidency said in a statement that "it was agreed to continue joint efforts to push the path of a political solution away from foreign interference through a comprehensive and constructive dialogue between the Libyans themselves in order to preserve Libya's security, unity and sovereignty."

It is expected that the Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune will visit Tunisia "in the near future," according to the statement.

Libya has witnessed chaos and violence since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.

The crisis worsened last year after the forces of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive to control Tripoli, the headquarters of the Government of National Accord, which the forces loyal to it were able to confront.

The Al-Wefaq government forces regained control of western Libya after battles that lasted for more than a year and ended in early June with the withdrawal of Haftar's forces from all the areas he controlled in the west and northwest.

On 22 August, the two parties to the conflict announced, in two separate statements, an immediate and complete ceasefire, and the organization of next year’s elections across the country. The United Nations welcomed the "important consensus" between the two parties on that day.