The Speaker of the Arab Parliament, Adel Abdulrahman Al-Assoumi held talks on Friday with the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Abdoulaye Bathily.
During the meeting, Al-Assoumi affirmed the Arab Parliament’s “firm stance to support all efforts aimed at preserving the full sovereignty of Libya, and its unity.”
The Arab PArliament Speaker also reiterated support for all efforts made by the United Nations, to end the Libyan crisis. He voiced his hope that Bathily “will be able to achieve positive progress in this path, given his long experience in resolving many crises at the regional and international levels.”
Al-Assoumi stressed the need to reach a consensus on the constitutional basis for Parliamentary and Presidential elections as soon as possible. He also called for ending “all forms of foreign interference in the country’s internal affairs, in addition to the withdrawal of mercenaries and foreign fighters from all Libyan territories.”
“This represents a direct path to achieving security and stability in the Libyan state, and the establishment of a modern democratic civil state,” the Arab Parliament official added.
Bathily affirmed his “determination to listen to all Libyan parties away from any external interference,” and reiterated the United Nations’ “support for a sustainable Libyan-owned solution to restore peace and stability to the country.”
He also stressed the importance of “preserving the ceasefire agreement, and unifying the security and military institutions in Libya.”
The UN diplomat hailed the role of the Arab Parliament in supporting UNSMIL, adding that “parliamentarians always have a supportive role in resolving such crises, based on their relatively large margin of flexibility, compared to the restrictions imposed by official diplomacy in many cases.”
Libya’s current political crisis stems from the failure to hold elections in December 2021, and the refusal of Prime Minister Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba to step down.
In response, the country’s eastern-based Parliament appointed a rival Prime Minister, Fathi Bashagha who has for months sought to install his government in Tripoli.