Libyan Factions Upbeat about U.N.-mediated Talks
Rival Libyan factions said Friday they were upbeat about the course of U.N.-mediated talks under way in Morocco aimed at brokering a deal on a national unity government.
U.N. envoy Bernardino Leon shuttled between representatives of Libya's rival parliaments, the General National Congress and the elected and internationally recognized legislature, for a second day near Rabat.
Elected parliament member Cherif El Wafi said the talks had been "positive".
"We are now going to discuss the make-up of a national unity government," he told reporters.
He admitted there are some disagreements over the names being discussed but expected the rival parliaments to bridge their differences.
He said talks would resume on Tuesday in Morocco, adding that he hoped the line-up to be announced by the end of next week.
But GNC member Mustapha Abu Shakura said a "written agreement could be reached on Saturday."
He said talks are now focusing on "security issues, a ceasefire and the organization of the army."
Libya has been wracked by conflict since the 2011 armed uprising against Moammar Gadhafi, with the two governments and powerful militias battling for control of key cities and the North African country's oil riches.
The elected parliament is based in the eastern city of Tobruk while the rival Islamist-backed GNC is in the capital Tripoli.
Leon met members of the Tobruk-based parliament on Friday morning before later seeing delegates from Tripoli, an Agence France-Presse journalist said.
"I am optimistic about the security arrangements, which is a key element. The new government needs a secure environment to work," Leon tweeted in his only comment on the second day of discussions.
Leon, who had been trying for weeks to bring the two sides together, told journalists late Thursday that the first day of talks had been "positive and constructive."
However, the indirect nature of the discussions has been criticized by the deputy speaker of the GNC, who is heading the Tripoli delegation.
"This method is not reliable. We need to unite around the same table to get things done," Salah al-Makhzoum said.
Representatives of both parliaments had already held indirect talks on February 11 at Ghadames in southern Libya, under U.N. auspices, the first of their kind since a national dialogue was launched at the end of September 2014.
Source: Agence France Presse
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://cdn.naharnet.com/stories/en/170418 |