By Sami Zaptia.
London, 2 March 2019:
A joint statement on Libya was released by the Governments of the United States of America, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
The statement reiterated its support for UNSMIL and elections, and gave its support to the recent Abu Dhabi meeting between Faiez Serraj, head of Libya’s internationally-recognized Presidency Council and Government of National Accord, and Khalifa Hafter, commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA).
It stressed the need for a non-military solution and welcomed the reopening of the Sharara oilfield.
Here is the text in full:
The governments of France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States reiterate their strong support to the ongoing efforts of UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) Ghassan Salamé and the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) to de-escalate tensions in Libya and help the Libyan people chart a path toward credible and secure elections.
We welcome UN leadership in convening Prime Minister al-Sarraj and LNA Commander Haftar on February 27 and commend the efforts of the Government of the United Arab Emirates to facilitate this discussion.
We welcome the announcement by UNSMIL that a political agreement could be reached on the need to end the transitional stages in Libya through holding general elections, and on ways to maintain stability in the country and unify its institutions. Mindful that there is no military solution in Libya, we call on all Libyans to work constructively with SRSG Salamé and seize this vital opportunity to realize a stable and unified government that can deliver security and prosperity for all Libyans.
We also welcome the announcement by the Government of National Accord that parties have agreed to resume oil production at the al-Sharara field. All sides should promptly implement this agreement in order to allow the National Oil Corporation (NOC) to resume its vital work for the benefit of all Libyans. These Libyan resources must remain under the exclusive control of the NOC and sole oversight of the Government of National Accord, as outlined in UN Security Council Resolutions 2259 (2015), 2278 (2016), and 2362 (2017).
