German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Monday expressed “cautious optimism” about the prospect of ending the long-running conflict in Libya, during a virtual ministerial meeting of 23 countries. The meeting was co-hosted by the United Nations and Germany.
Maas felt encouraged by what he described as a shift to “political logic”, after the warring sides in the North African country appeared unable to achieve their aims militarily.
“We believe that there is now a window in which much has become possible that was not possible before. I think we must seize that,” the German Foreign Minister said.
He added: “There are grounds for cautious optimism. We are seeing increasing signs of a rethink from military to political logic.”
Libya has been in a state of a political crisis since the overthrow of long-standing leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
The oil-rich country has been split since 2014 between two rival administrations: the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in the capital, Tripoli, and the House of Representatives (HoR) based in eastern Libya.
Recent talks in Egypt and Morocco resulted in positive steps by the two sides, including GNA and HoR representatives agree on an electoral calendar to organize elections within 18 months and demilitarize the contested city of Sirte.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he has been encouraged by the recent developments, including a lull in fighting, and the freezing of confrontations between the two sides.
Maas and Guterres, stated in a joint statement, that the meeting highlighted the need to seize the opportunity created by the positive developments over the past few weeks to achieve peace and stability in Libya.
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