By Libya Herald correspondent.
Tunis, 11 January 2016:
The head of the Presidency Council, prime minister-designate Faiez Serraj has flown to Ankara this . . .[restrict]morning for talks with Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu on potential support that Turkey can give to Libya.
The invitation came from Turkey which was one of the 17 countries signing up to the Rome Declaration last month in which they committed themselves to backing the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) and the Government of National Accord, to be led by Serraj. Turkey, however, is still regarded as having significant leverage with the General National Congress led by Nuri Abu Sahmain and its “government” under Khalifa Ghwell, both of which refuse to accept the LPA.
According to the Anadolu news agency, Davutoglu stressed Turkey’s commitment to Libyan unity and security, adding that it would support the country’s reconstruction. He also expressed the hope that with the LPA signed in Skhirat, Libya would be able to overcome all the difficulties since the revolution. He also described Serraj’s appointment as “good news”.
Serraj, who returned to Tunis immediately after the meeting, is supposed to complete nominations for all the GNA’s ministries by Saturday for presentation to the House of Representatives. It then has 10 days to meet and vote on them. He is under intense pressure to keep to the timelines. However, there have been heated arguments in the Presidency Council about names and portfolios.
It is widely rumoured that following Friday’s eventful visit to Zliten when he and other members of the Council gave their condolences for the victims of the terrorist suicide attack there, he will make a flying visit this week to somewhere in eastern Libya, then somewhere in the south. [/restrict]
