Blinken underscores importance of December Libya elections, need for foreign forces to depart and full support for UNSMIL

By Sami Zaptia.

London, 31 March 2021: 

U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price reported that Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken held a virtual meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Monday to discuss U.S. priorities at the United Nations.

Discussions focused on the ways in which they could work together to address regional and global challenges and strengthen the foundational principles and values of the UN and the multilateral system, including the protection of human rights and the dignity of every individual no matter their citizenship, ethnicity, religion, gender, or race.

Price reported that Secretary Blinken welcomed the new interim Government of National Unity in Libya, underscored the importance of national elections in December of this year and the need for foreign forces to depart, and pledged full support for UN Special Envoy Jan Kubis and the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). They agreed to continue close U.S.-UN coordination on these and other matters.