The United Nations, Western countries and Russia called for support for the ceasefire in effect in Libya for more than two months, while the Tobruk Parliament Speaker suggested the city of Sirte as a seat for the next executive authority.

On Wednesday, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, delivered to the UN Security Council its interim report on monitoring the ceasefire in Libya, which was reached on 23 October.

In the report, Guterres urged the Security Council to grant the United Nations Support Mission in Libya a clear and flexible mandate to support the mechanism for monitoring the implementation of the agreement, which provides, among other items, for the withdrawal of mercenaries from the country within 90 days, and the formation of a joint Libyan military force to be run by a single operations room.

He also called for supporting the resources of the UN mission in Libya to enable it to play its role.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations said that the Joint Libyan Military Committee (5 + 5) has made great steps towards creating conditions and starting the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.

Politically also, the ambassadors of the United States, France, Britain, Germany, Italy, and the UN mission in Libya called on the international community to provide full support for the political process, including the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum and the ceasefire agreement.

In a statement issued after yesterday's meeting with the head of the Libyan Presidency Council, Fayez al-Sarraj, via video technology, the ambassadors and the representative of the UN mission welcomed the recent prisoner exchange process between the Libyan Government of National Accord and the forces of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar.

In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said yesterday in a press conference with his Libyan counterpart, Mohamed Taher Siala, that his country looks forward to stabilizing the ceasefire in Libya, and that it is ready to continue providing support in order to solve the problems facing this country.

Lavrov added that it is important to coordinate the positions of all parties in Libya under the umbrella of the United Nations.

For his part, Siala said that he had asked Russia to support the exit of foreign fighters from Libya.

Aguila Saleh's statements come in light of the faltering talks regarding the formation of a new executive authority in Libya (Reuters)

The Executive Authority


On the other hand, the Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives meeting in Tobruk (eastern Libya) Aguila Saleh stressed the importance of consensus to form the Presidential Council and the Prime Minister, to start work from the city of Sirte (450 kilometers east of Tripoli), which is under the control of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar, as a temporary headquarters And the launch of the preliminary stage.

In statements he made yesterday, Aqeelah said that among the tasks of the Presidency Council to be formed is the removal of foreign forces, stopping foreign interference, and supporting the national unity government.

The statements of the Tobruk Parliament Speaker come as the United Nations is trying to push the Libyan parties to make progress towards forming a new executive authority after the talks that took place in the past few weeks have faltered.

During the round of dialogue hosted in Tunisia last November, the participants who represent part of the Libyan spectrum agreed to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on December 24 of next year, and in return, the composition of the new presidential council was not agreed upon.

After the recent dialogues, and the lifting of the blockade that Haftar's forces were striking on the oil fields, spread an atmosphere of optimism that a settlement would be reached that would turn the page of the war in Libya, tension has resurfaced recently, following threats made by Haftar against the Turkish forces operating in Libya.

While France warned Haftar against a return to escalation, the Libyan Government of National Accord confirmed that it was ready to confront any new aggression by Haftar.