Italy’s Special Envoy to Libya, Nicolae Orlando announced that the Libyan Contact Group which includes Turkey, the United States, Britain, Italy, France, Egypt, and Germany, held a meeting in Istanbul on Thursday.
In a statement, Orlando said that the attendees agreed on the urgency for Libyan leaders to “complete the constitutional track for elections, and reach a consensus on a unified and inclusive roadmap for stability.”
During the meeting, they also stressed the need to preserve the neutrality of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), and other sovereign state institutions, and ensure transparent and equitable use of national resources.
The meeting was the third of its kind, following previous meetings in Rome in late May, and Tunisia in early June.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said that the talks discussed the latest developments in Libya.
Media sources said that the attendees also touched upon the failed agreement to draft a constitution and hold Presidential elections in December 2021. These were subsequently postponed indefinitely.
The meeting was attended by Special Envoy and US Ambassador to Libya: Richard Norland, Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa at the US State Department; Joshua Harris, Turkish Ambassador to Libya; Kanaan Yilmaz, Director of the Libya Department at the Egyptian Foreign Ministry; Ambassador Mohamed Sarwa Selim, and Italian Ambassador; Giuseppe Buccino Grimaldi, German Ambassador; Michael Unmacht, and British Ambassador; Caroline Hurndall.
Libya has two rival armies present in the East and the West. They were engaged in fierce conflict, before signing an UN-brokered ceasefire agreement in October 2020.