Russia, France and the United States expressed their support to the Egyptian initiative to solve the crisis in Libya, announced in Cairo on Saturday.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi received Libyan Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh and Libyan National Army Commander Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar and announced an initiative to end the conflict in neighbouring country.
Sisi told a news conference that the initiative includes a cease-fire starting Monday and is meant to pave the way for elections in oil-rich Libya. He warned against continuing to look for a military solution to the country’s crisis.
Special Representative of the President of Russia for the Middle East and African countries, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Mikhail Bogdanov said that Moscow supports the initiative of Cairo to ceasefire in Libya.
“We expected this initiative, we knew that it was being prepared. Now, having familiarized ourselves with the content of the proposals of the President of Egypt, we, of course, support any proposals aimed at the speedy end to hostilities, ”Bogdanov said.
On its part, the United States Embassy in Libya released a statement saying that "The United States is watching with interest as political voices in the East of Libya find expression.”
“We look forward to seeing these voices incorporated into a genuine nationwide political dialogue immediately following the resumption of the UNSMIL-hosted 5+5 talks on the modalities of a ceasefire,” the statement read.
It also added that the U.S. welcome efforts by Egypt and others to support a return to “The UN-led political negotiations and the declaration of a ceasefire,” stressing that Washington “calls on all sides to participate in good faith to halt the fighting and return to the UN-led political negotiations.”
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Libya Peace Initiative Calls for Ceasefire
In a phone conversation between the Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his French Counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian, Paris lauded efforts made by Egypt regarding the Libyan file and expressed its welcome for the results achieved on Saturday in Cairo.
On his part, Le Drian expressed France’s support for the goal of resuming the political process on this basis under the auspices of the United Nations and within the outcomes agreed upon at the Berlin Conference.
The Egyptian initiative includes the formation of a presidential council in which Libya’s three regions would be represented. That council would rule the country during a 1 1/2-year transition period followed by elections.
The initiative also called for the withdrawal of all foreign fighters in Libya.
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 the country.
“The Prime Minister of the Government of the National Accord in Tripoli, Tripoli, Fayez Al-Sarraj, had made the crisis hostage to international conflicts,” Mismari told Sky News Arabia.
He pointed out that the 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.
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