Lingering hurdles include domestic tensions and jockeying for positions as well Turkish-dispatched mercenaries.
Friday 07/05/2021
A Libyan voter casts his ballot at a polling station during the municipal elections in Tripoli, Libya February 6, 2021. (REUTERS)
TRIPOLI France, Germany, Italy, the United States and Britain have urged Libya Thursday to start preparations to meet a December deadline for holding elections, which it is hoped will help the country exit a decade of crisis.
Libya’s interim government, which came into being in March through a UN-backed inter-Libyan dialogue, is mandated to lead the country to elections on December 24, but formal preparations have not yet started.
Last Updated On: May 07 2021 12:19 Gmt+3
Turkey and Egypt will hold further meetings after making progress in two days of “frank” discussions aimed at normalising relations, according to a joint statement on Thursday.
Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal began talks with his Egyptian counterpart Hamdi Sanad Loza in Cairo on Wednesday, the first high-level meeting between the two countries since 2013.
Relations between Turkey and Egypt have been strained over a range of regional issues, including maritime borders and Ankara’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood. The discussions were frank and in-depth. They addressed bilateral issues as well as a number of regional issues, in particular the situation in Libya, Syria, Iraq, and the need to achieve peace and security in the eastern Mediterranean region, the deputy foreign ministers said.
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ANKARA Turkey and Germany agree that all foreign mercenaries in Libya need to leave the country, but Ankara has a bilateral agreement with the Libyan government for its troops to be stationed there, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan that the withdrawal of foreign troops from Libya would be an “important signal” as both leaders vowed to support the new interim government, a German government spokesman said.
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UPDATE 1-Turkey says mercenaries should leave Libya, but it has military pact with government Reuters 3 hrs ago
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ANKARA, May 6 (Reuters) - Turkey and Germany agree that all foreign mercenaries in Libya need to leave the country, but Ankara has a bilateral agreement with the Libyan government for its troops to be stationed there, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan that the withdrawal of foreign troops from Libya would be an important signal as both leaders vowed to support the new interim government, a German government spokesman said.
UPDATE 1-Merkel tells Turkey s Erdogan withdrawal of troops from Libya would be important signal Reuters 5/5/2021
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BERLIN, May 5 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday that the withdrawal of foreign troops from Libya would be an important signal as both leaders vowed to support the new interim government there, a German government spokesman said.
Libya s new unity government was sworn in on March 15 from two warring administrations that had ruled eastern and western regions, completing a relatively smooth transition of power after a decade of violent chaos.
Turkey had backed the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord against the eastern-based Libyan National Army, which was supported by Russia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and France.