Egypt to continue hosting talks aimed at uniting Libyan army – Ex FM

Egypt will continue to host talks aimed at creating the framework for an agreement based on which the Libyan army would unite, Egyptian former Minister of Foreign Affairs Nabil Fahmy told Sputnik in Monday.“”We will hold additional meeting and as many additional talks as we have to,” Fahmy said on the sidelines of the Valdai Discussion Club’s Middle East Conference.

The last round of talks between Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Sisi and Prime Minister of the Libyan Government of National Accord Fayez Sarraj took place in December.

In July, Cairo opened a new military base in its western desert with the ceremony being attended by Libyan National Army Commander Khalifa Haftar and president Sisi.

“Our first step was helping the Libyan armed forces in the east to secure that border. It was a first step and you need to move more towards a common central authority inside the country.

“We are doing two things now: we are training the Libyan military, providing them with resources but also pushing the Libyan military to come together east and west to create a central authority both for the military and the police,” he said.According to the diplomat, the Libyan crisis settlement is a life and death question for Egypt.

“We have a very long border with Libya, we witnessed terrorism, extremism, illegal weapons on the border. It is vital for Libya, it is vital for Egypt, it is vital for Tunisia and Algeria as well,” Fahmy noted.

In 2017, Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria launched a tripartite initiative to coordinate efforts to end the crisis.

Libya has been in a state of turmoil since 2011, when a civil war broke out in the country and long-standing leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown, and the country was contested by two rival governments – the internationally-recognised Council of Deputies based in Tobruk and the Tripoli-based General National Congress.

The two governments agreed to create the Government of National Accord, form the Presidency Council, and end the political impasse in late 2015.

Backed by the UN and without the support of the Tobruk parliament, the Government of National Accord in Tripoli started its work in late March 2016.