Acting Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya Stephanie Williams said, "The Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, which Tunisia will host in early November, is a real opportunity to achieve progress in the Libyan political process."
After a meeting with Tunisian President Kais Saied, Williams said that she sensed the sincere will of the various Libyan parties to achieve national reconciliation.
Williams' visit comes to set the necessary arrangements for dialogue and to inform the Tunisian president of the most important outcomes of the dialogue rounds emanating from the Berlin track, as indicated by the Tunisian presidency.
Williams had announced that the United Nations will, starting from October 19, sponsor direct talks for the first time between the delegations of the 5 + 5 military committee in Geneva with the aim of reaching a permanent ceasefire agreement in Libya.
In turn, the Tunisian president expressed his optimism to give an impetus to the anticipated Libyan dialogue in Tunisia, in preparation for reaching an agreement that ends the conflict extending since 2011 in the neighboring country.
Said said, "Tunisia will provide all its logistical and material capabilities for the success of the Libyan dialogue."
Punitive welcome
In a related context, the Algerian President, Abdel Majid Tebboune, welcomed, on Monday, Tunisia's hosting of the comprehensive Libyan political dialogue forum, next November.
Tebboune confirmed, during a phone call with his Tunisian counterpart, that Algeria always stands by Tunisia.
Earlier Monday, Libyan Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohamed Keblawi announced that Algeria had expressed its desire to participate in the currently ongoing Libyan dialogue, during a meeting between Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Siala and the Algerian ambassador to Tripoli, Kamal Abdel Qader.
Since Sunday, the activities of the Libyan Constitutional Track meeting, under the auspices of the United Nations, and the participation of the delegations of the Supreme Council of State and the Tobruk Parliament (East), loyal to the forces of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar, have continued in Cairo.
The two parties to the Libyan Dialogue reached understandings in Morocco last Wednesday regarding criteria for occupying sovereign positions in Libya.
For years, the oil-rich country has been suffering from an armed conflict, so with the support of Arab and Western countries, the forces of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar, the internationally recognized Libyan government, have fought over legitimacy and authority, which resulted in civilian deaths and injuries, along with tremendous material damage.
There has been a ceasefire in Libya since 21 August, which Haftar's forces violate from time to time.