“Khalifa Haftar, Libyan National Army (LNA) commander, is one of the main actors on the Libyan political scene and must be taken into consideration,” an official from the French presidency said on Monday.
Haftar told President Macron that he would be willing to sign a ceasefire and commit to it if forces fighting on behalf of the internationally-recognised GNA did the same.
“Marshal Haftar assured [us] that he was committed to signing the ceasefire but this commitment would cease if the militias do not respect it,” the official said after Haftar met President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
The ceasefire in Libya that has been in place since January 13th, 2020 has thus far been in name only as both sides have repeatedly violated it, according to UNSMIL. The fragile UN-led peace process to put an end to the Libyan conflict has frozen since the resignation of Ghassan Salame.
According to the Reuters report, there were no plans for French President Emmanuel Macron to meet or speak to the head of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), Fayez al-Sarraj.
