Firas Samuri:‎

Haftar and al-Sarraj are on the way to settlement for Libya

Rasa – In an exclusive report for Rasa News Agency, Firas Samuri, a freelance journalist, ‎‎wrote that s the outcomes of Palermo summit on the Libyan settlement and the ways how ‎Khalifah Haftar, the head of the Libyan National Army, and Fayez al-Sarraj, the Prime ‎Minister of Libya, could collectively restore the national economy and assist Libyans to ‎emerge from the crisis.‎

News ID: 441919

Date: 06 December 2018 - 09:23

RNA – Another meeting on the Libyan settlement was held in the southern Italian city of ‎Palermo on November 12-13. The leaders of the warring factions, EU and UN ‎representatives, as well as the parties concerned, took part in the summit. ‎

After two days of intense talks, the participants agreed to arrange a new conference in Libya ‎by the beginning of the next year. It’s expected the date of the upcoming presidential and ‎parliamentary elections would be announced there. ‎

On the one hand, the result of the current meeting on Libya is conditional, as the talks in ‎Palermo haven’t brought something specific for the Libyans. Since the politicians meet and ‎seek for the ways of resolving the crisis, the nation continues to suffer from the ‎consequence of foreign intervention and the overthrow of Mu’ammar al-Qadhafi in 2011. ‎

On the other hand, Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifah Haftar who was in Italy ‎as a private person and met the conference participants on the sidelines. Haftar and Fayez ‎al-Sarraj held an extensive private discussion during the informal talks of Italian Prime ‎Minister Giuseppe Conte, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, Tunisian President ‎Muhammad al-Baji Qa’id as-Sibsi, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, and European ‎Council President Donald Tusk. Although the result of the closed meeting is still unknown, the ‎very fact speaks volumes.‎

First, the negotiations on the sidelines of the summit were aimed at searching for the best ‎ways of resolving the Libyan crisis. By participating in the sides demonstrated their desire ‎and commitment to the fast ending of the civil war. ‎

Second, the isolation of Turkey from political accommodation has become one of the most ‎important outcomes of the summit. This step could be inferred from the fact that Turkish ‎Vice-President Fuat Oktay was not invited. Perhaps, this is due to Haftar’s position, who has ‎repeatedly criticized both Ankara and Doha for supporting the Islamists in Tripoli. ‎

Commenting on the results of the conference United Nations Special Envoy to Libya, ‎Ghassan Salameh, declared the success as all the sides agreed to follow the UN roadmap. ‎The document envisages the amendment to the political arrangement signed in Skhirat, ‎Morocco in 2015, holding a conference bringing together main political forces and civil ‎society organizations, the revision of the Libyan constitution, and the preparation for the ‎presidential and parliamentary elections.‎

Ways to resolve the conflict

By the way, holding the meeting in Palermo is not enough for the settlement of the Libyan ‎conflict. The leader of Eastern Libya Haftar and pro-Western politician al-Sarraj will face ‎many challenges like the disarmament of numerous militias, initiation of the national ‎reconciliation process, and economic recovery. ‎

The first goal for two politicians in coordination is soluble. It is vital for the end of the civil ‎war and the nationwide reconciliation. ‎

Reconciliation is the most challenging component within the Libyan settlement. No one would ‎assist the politicians in this matter. To resolve this issue, Haftar and al-Sarraj will have to ‎make many efforts and spend time, as the situation requires establishing a dialogue with ‎various social, ethnic, and tribal groups. Such an approach will accelerate the creation of ‎favourable conditions for holding presidential and parliamentary elections. The formation of ‎new political power in the country will be the key to the economic recovery. There are many ‎opportunities to stabilize the situation in the state. According to the media, amount of the al-‎Qadhafi’s family assets frozen in the Western banks rises to one hundred billion dollars. The ‎leading economists believe these funds will be enough to restore the national economy ‎ruined during the war. No doubt, the United Nations will unfreeze the Libyan assets after the ‎establishment of the strong centralized power in the country.‎

Thus, despite all the contradictions between the parties to the conflict, the summit in ‎Palermo could give the new impetus to the Libyan settlement. In addition, the meeting of ‎the political opponents represented by Haftar and al-Sarraj could become the first step ‎towards consolidation and restoration of Libyan society.‎

Rasa News Agency

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