By Libya Herald staff.
Tripoli, 23 October 2014:
According to UN Special Representative of the Secretary General Bernardino Leon, speaking after meeting in . . .[restrict]Malta with Prime Minister Abdullah Al-Thinni, the mood of the main players in Libya’s dialogue process in improving, but there is not much yet in the way of tangible results.
Talks were held in Malta on Tuesday evening between Leon and Thinni, along with a Libyan delegation of a deputy PM and four other cabinet members. Malta’s Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat, and Foreign Minister, George Vella, also attended the meetings.
At them, Leon updated Thinni on the progress of dialogue talks, including the meetings held in Ghadames on 29 September.
According to Leon, all parties have expressed commitment to the dialogue process. The recent escalation in military actions, however, is not helping the process. The focus must remain on dialogue.
Leon said that the overall mood was changing. He saw more positive attitudes toward dialogue and reaching a peaceful solution.
Leon met the following morning with Vella and thanked the Foreign Minister for Malta’s “quiet, effective diplomacy”.
For his part, Vella said that many more meetings would likely be needed. Malta has indicated its willingness to host further meetings on behalf of the Libyan peace process.
In a joint press conference with Prime Minster Muscat ahead of the meetings, Thinni spoke about the strong bilateral relations, economic and otherwise, between the two nations and the future opportunities for collaboration.
While in Malta, Thinni also met with US Ambassador to Libya, Deborah Jones who is currently based in Malta. Few details have emerged about that meeting. The Times of Malta quoted Jones as saying the meeting had been a “valuable exchange of views”. Jones tweeted something similar about the meeting, along with a photo.
In response to a question asked by The Times of Malta at the Thinni-Muscat press conference, Thinni replied that his meeting with Jones was a “routine meeting, in which they discussed day-to-day matters.”
Furthermore, Thinni met in Malta with Turkish special envoy to Libya Emrullah Isler. Following the meeting Isler was to travel to Misrata.
Isler had also traveled to Tripoli and met with Omar Al-Hassi and his ministers, a move that was likely to anger the UN and other countries that refuse to recognize Hassi’s anti-government. [/restrict]
