Following the briefing provided by the UN special envoy to Libya on Tuesday, representatives of the United States and the United Kingdom in the UN Security Council stressed, in their response, supporting elections in the country, meanwhile Russia’s representative stated that the acceptance of the results of elections by all Libyan actors must be guaranteed, and warned of turning Libya into a field for proxy wars.
The US delegate declared that they are ready to support a caretaker government whose sole mission is to lead the country to elections, adding that her country supports all efforts to address controversial issues in the election law, explaining that she encourages the UN envoy to build on the work of the 6 + 6 committee. She further indicated that the unification of the Central Bank is a positive step for the political process in Libya. The American delegate warned that the Russian Wagner group aims to obtain a greater foothold in Africa, which she considered would have repercussions on the stability of Libya.
For his part, Russia’s delegate to the United Nations warned of turning Libya into a field for proxy wars, adding that the country is divided due to external interventions, and stressed the necessity of ensuring that all Libyan parties accept the results of anticipated elections, which must be conducted in a transparent and fair manner, stating that the electoral process must include parties representing the former regime. The Russian representative welcomed the decision of establishing a supreme committee for financial arrangements and the unification of the Central Bank.
In turn, the British delegate warned that sanctions will target those who threaten security and stability in Libya, calling on all Libyan parties to collaborate with the UN special envoy to give the peace process a chance. The UK delegate pointed out that the recent clashes in Tripoli confirmed the importance of making urgent progress in the political process to reach the elections.
The representative of France considered the draft electoral law an important step for holding simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections, affirming support of the UN mission’s efforts to reach fair and transparent elections at the soonest, regarding it the only way to achieve stability in Libya. France’s representative also indicated that the recent events in Tripoli confirmed the importance of unifying the military and security institutions, expressing her country’s determination to continue supporting the joint military committee to reunify the army.
On the other hand, the representative of China called on the UN envoy to cooperate with the Libyan parties in order to build consensus, expressing appreciation of the work of the 6 + 6 committee to draft an electoral law. The Chinese delegate stressed that his country encourages all parties to agree on completing the political transition process, noting that foreign intervention and meddling is the cause of the Libyan crisis and the reason for instability in the country, calling on the international community to support and cooperate with Libya instead of imposing external solutions, and pleading the Libyan parties to settle their differences.
Source: Security Council Session + Libya Alahrar
