Rival Libyan political leaders who held joint talks Thursday (10 September) in Morocco have reach some breakthroughs over key issues, including elections and uniting rival governments. Delegates from Libya’s rival administrations have agreed on ‘the criteria, transparent mechanisms’ for appointments to their country’s key institutions. Dubbed the “Libyan Dialogue,” the talks brought together five participants from the House of Representatives (HoR), based in the eastern city of Tobruk, and five others from the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), which controls the capital, Tripoli and the northwest.
Following the meeting in Bouznika, a seaside resort near the capital Rabat, HoR’s Idris Omran read out a joint statement to reporters on the outcome of the talks, though he did not give further details, except that the two sides would meet again during the last week of September to finalise mechanisms “that would guarantee the implementation and activation” of the deal. The naming of the heads of Libya’s central bank, its armed forces and the National Oil Corporation have reportedly been the main points of dispute. However, Khaled al-Mishri, the Islamist head of the Council of State in Tripoli, cautioned on Wednesday (9 September) that “we cannot say that the (Morocco meetings) are … real dialogue sessions so far. Rather, they are preliminary consultations for the start of the dialogue.” Parallel to the Morocco talks, “consultations” took place in Montreux, Switzerland this week between Libyan stakeholders and members of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).
Libya is currently divided between eastern and western governments locked in a military stalemate. Meanwhile, Arab League head Ahmed Aboul Gheit has reiterated that Arab states widely oppose Turkish interference, arguing that Arab states must combat this kind of interference so that they don’t become a battleground for internecine conflicts. Turkey backs the UN-recognized Government of National Accord based in Tripoli and has provided military support for its forces. While it was not clear if the talks in Morocco included binding agreements, members of both delegations told Arab media that one of the key points of agreement was to “divide positions in the ruling Council of State from among (Libya’s) three geographic regions.” There are also reports that negotiators in Switzerland, where talks are due to get underway on 17 September, have agreed that elections must be held by December 2021 based on a mutually acceptable constitutional framework.
