After Meeting Sisi, Libyan Leaders Launch Cairo Initiative

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi received both Aguila Saleh, Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives, and Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, Commander-in-Chief of the Libyan Armed Forces, at Ettahadiya Presidential Palace, eastern Cairo, on Saturday.

“A number of Egyptian senior officials attended the meeting such as Lieutenant General Mohamed Zaki, Minister of Defense, Abbas Kamel, Chief of General Intelligence, Ali Abdel-Aal, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Sameh Shoukry, Minister of Foreign Affairs,” said Presidency Spokesman Ambassador Bassam Rady.

Rady added that the president's meeting with the Libyan leaders aimed to achieve security and political stability in Libya, considering that “Libya's security is an extension of the Egyptian national security, in addition to the impact of the repercussions of the current Libyan situation on the regional and international milieu."

[caption id="attachment_117118" align="aligncenter" width="628"] President Abdel Fattah El Sisi[/caption]

On his part, President Sisi welcomed the Libyan leaders, praising their sincere and common desire to uphold the Libyan national interest, activate the will of the Libyan people and preserve the sovereignty, unity and independence of Libya.

"The president also stressed that Egypt's moves regarding the Libyan file were always aimed at coordinating with the Libyan brothers to lay the foundations of security and stability in all parts of Libya, by seeking to achieve a peaceful settlement to the crisis that includes the unity of national institutions, the equitable distribution of the return of Libyan wealth, and the prevention of external interference which aims mainly to implement its own interests at the expense of the Libyan people,” Rady noted.

[caption id="attachment_69609" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] President Sisi with Khalifa Haftar in May's Visit[/caption]

During the meeting, President Sisi reviewed all recent field developments in Libya and related international interactions.

Sisi and the Libyan leaders agreed on the complete rejection of the practices of some parties on the Libyan scene, as well as the military escalation that would further exacerbate the situation.

In the meantime, Saleh and Haftar welcomed Cairo’s national talks, and lauded the pivotal and important Egyptian role led by Sisi in stabilizing peace and achieving stability in Libya and preserving the capabilities of the Libyan people.

They also hailed Egypt’s support for the efforts of Libyan institutions in combating terrorism and extremist groups in Libya, in an effort to create conditions for a political solution to the crisis, to meet the aspirations of the Libyan people towards a safe and dignified life.

Libyan Leaders Lauded Egypt's Sisi Efforts

Accordingly, they stressed that their endeavors, along with the Egyptian efforts, aim primarily to re-launch the political process with the participation of regional and international powers concerned with the Libyan affairs.

At the end of the meeting, Saleh and Field Marshal Haftar launched the Cairo Declaration, including a Libyan-Libyan initiative as a basis for resolving the crisis in Libya, within the framework of United Nations resolutions and successive international efforts leading to the outcomes of the Berlin Conference.

They affirmed that this initiative calls for respect for those efforts, cease-fire, and obliging foreign actors to pull out mercenaries from within Libyan territory so that Libyan security institutions can carry out their responsibilities and tasks, in addition to completing and strengthening parallel tracks at the political and economic levels.

[caption id="attachment_129957" align="aligncenter" width="732"] Militia fighters affiliated to Al-Sarraj government in Libya[/caption]

On Thursday, Libyan National Army Spokesman Major General Ahmed Al-Mismari said that no political negotiations will advance unless Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan withdraw his forces from Libya.

“The Prime Minister of the Government of the National Accord in Tripoli, Tripoli, Fayez Al-Sarraj, made the Libyan crisis hostage to international conflicts,” Mismari added in an interview with Sky News Arabia.

He pointed out that the Libyan National Army (LNA), which is fighting a war against militias and terrorists, is putting the ball in the court of the international community to implement its obligations.

Earlier Thursday, the LNA announced that it was relocating its units outside the capital, but with the condition that the other side, Sarraj forces, abides by a ceasefire, in order to stop the bloodshed of the Libyan people.

The Libyan Armed Forces indicated that, in the event that the other party does not comply, the General Command will resume operations and suspend its participation in the ceasefire committee known as “5+5”.