On Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, said that preparations are ongoing to host a Libyan political dialogue forum, to which around 100 politicians and reliable public figures from the country’s three historical regions will be invited.
In a statement, Zakharova said that the forum aims to reach agreements on a unified transitional administration in Libya.
She added that the key to the success of the comprehensive settlement process in Libya is to include all political forces in the forum, including supporters of the former regime.
Zakharova indicated that the Libyan meetings held in Bouznika Morocco, and Montreux, Switzerland, have led to preliminary agreements on principles for forming future governmental bodies. She also explained that the concerned United Nations officials will attend the forum to effectively coordinate international efforts and provide assistance to Libyans to overcome the consequences of the crisis.
Notably, the Russian official expressed Moscow’s concern about the delay in appointing a new special representative in Libya for the United Nations’ Secretary-General.
“International efforts to provide foreign assistance to Libyans in overcoming the consequences of the devastating and bloody political-military crisis must be effectively coordinated by the United Nations,” Zakharova told reporters.
“In this regard, concerns over the unjustified delay in appointing a new Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Libya, to replace Ghassan Salame who left his post in March of this year, cannot be overstated,” Zakharova added.
The former Special Representative, Ghassan Salame, who heavily contributed to the Berlin Conference for the Libyan Settlement, had announced in March that he would leave the post. Since then, Stephanie Williams has succeeded Salame as the Acting Special Representative for Libya.
Libya has been suffering from security chaos and a power struggle since the signing of the Skhirat Agreement in 2015. This power struggle opposes the Tripoli- based Government of National Accord (GNA) to the Benghazi-based Interim Government supported by the Parliament and the Libya National Army, which is led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.