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By Sami Zaptia.
London, 30 September 2020:
Delegations representing the internationally recognized Libyan government and the Khalifa Hafter-led Libyan National Army (LNA), and comprising police and military officers, have concluded two days of security and military talks, facilitated by UNSMIL, in the city of Egypt’s Hurghada, UNSMIL reported today.
It added that discussions were marked by a spirit of responsibility, transparency, and mutual trust. UNSMIL reported that discussions addressed a number of pressing security and military issues, including confidence-building measures; security arrangements in an area to be defined at a later stage within the framework of the 5+5 Joint Military Committee (JMC) talks; in addition to tasks and responsibilities of the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG).
Both delegations concluded their deliberations with a set of recommendations to be presented to the 5+5 JMC, as follows:
- Swiftly resume face-to-face meetings of the 5+5 JMC, starting next week.
- Immediately release all those detained on account of their identity/origin and without pre-conditions or restrictions; take immediate measures to exchange, before the end of October, all those detained during military operations through the formation of specialized committees from the relevant parties.
- Halt all hate speech campaigns, replace the narrative of hatred and incitement with a discourse of tolerance and reconciliation, and reject violence and terrorism.
- Expedite the re-opening of air traffic and land transportation lines across all Libyan cities to ensure freedom of movement for all citizens.
- Participants reviewed the security arrangements, which will be determined at a later stage within the framework of the 5+5 Joint Military Committee (JMC) talks
- Refer the PFG tasks and responsibilities to the 5+5 JMC and request that it prioritizes this issue, provide a comprehensive assessment of the situation, and take the measures required to ensure regular oil and gas production and export.
UNSMIL expressed appreciation of the efforts of both delegations and welcomed the outcomes reached during the discussion, adding that it hopes that this positive development will contribute to paving the way towards a final and lasting ceasefire agreement.
It must be noted that there have also been recent Libyan-Libyan talks in Rabat, Morocco and Montreux Switzerland.
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