The Arab foreign ministers gathered in Tripoli on Sunday for a consultative meeting chaired by Libya's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in the Government of National Unity (GNU) Najla Mangoush, Libya Al Ahrar TV reported.
According to its information, the conference was attended by Tunisian and Algerian Foreign Ministers Othman Jerandi and Ramtane Lamamra, Qatar's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Soltan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi, representatives from the Comoros, Oman, Palestine, Somalia and Sudan, and UN Secretary-General's Representative for Libya Abdoulaye Bathily. The meeting was boycotted by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
Opening the conference, the GNU minister thanked the countries present "for their stance toward the Libyan people," noting that "the Government of National Unity is committed to holding elections and completing the transitional phases." She also expressed disappointment that the Arab League did not send a delegation to the meeting, refusing "to play its role in stabilizing the situation in Libya." The office of the League's secretary-general responded that sending a delegation from the organization "was not possible because the necessary confirmation of the participation of representatives from 14 countries was not achieved."
For his part, Libyan parliament-elected Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha thanked Cairo, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh as well as the League for their absence at the consultative meeting in Tripoli, calling it a game. Bashagha called on Tunisia and Algeria to review their foreign policy toward Libya.
Libya now effectively has two governments: the cabinet in the east, headed by Fathi Bashagha, who is supported by the parliament, and the GNU, led by Dbeibeh and headquartered in Tripoli. On June 22 last year, the transition period set by the UN as a result of the Geneva accords expired, by the end of which Libya would have had an elected president and parliament. The elections scheduled for December 2021 were cancelled, and no date has yet been set.
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Photo: hakeem.gadi/GFDL 1.2
Based on materials from TASS