On Sunday, Egypt’s General Intelligence Chief, Major General Abbas Kamel, confirmed that his country adheres to the Libyan political settlement, saying it is the only solution to preserve Libya and rebuild a unified state.
Kamel delivered a speech at the opening of the “Constitutional Track Meeting on Libya” hosted by Cairo, under the auspices of the United Nations. Six Libyan parliament members and six representatives of the High Council of State (HCS) participated in the meeting.
“The time has come for Libya to have a constitution that defines powers and responsibilities,” Kamel affirmed.
“Through a constitution, Libyans can hold officials accountable, including those who use their position to direct state resources to support terrorism instead of improving living conditions,” he added.
Kamel pointed out that the goal of this meeting is “to formulate an appropriate constitutional rule for Libyans to agree upon, as a basic condition for organising elections and then moving the political process.” Kamel stressed that Egypt adheres to the political settlement path as it is the only solution to preserve Libya and rebuild a unified state.
On the other hand, a senior Egyptian official told Al-Sharq newspaper that Cairo rejects the UN’s proposal to demilitarise the central region of Libya.
“Egypt rejects the proposal of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) because it is a prelude to the division of Libya,” the Egyptian source told Al-Sharq. He considered that UNSMIL had rushed to conclusions regarding the readiness of Libyan parties to demilitarise the country’s central region. The Egyptian officials clarified that such a plan was not agreed upon in the military dialogues between the two conflicting sides.
“The United Nations urges a complete stand-down of all military manoeuvres and reinforcements to enable an agreement on a lasting ceasefire, including a demilitarised zone in central Libya, as well as to create the space for constructive political discussions,” UNSMIL had said on Saturday.
Notably, Cairo will host a meeting under the auspices of the United Nations between the Libyan Parliament and the HCS’ delegations, from 11 to 13 October. The meeting aims at reaching an agreement on a new constitutional framework for the war-torn country.