Panafrican News Agency

No country can impose solution of crisis on Libyans - US official

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - US State Department regional spokesperson, Samuel Warberg, has stressed that no country can impose a solution of the crisis in Libya on the people.

He said, however, that without the presence of a government, a consensus or a common vision, there will be a vacuum that militias will exploit.

He was speaking in an interview on Tuesday with the Egyptian government website, Al-Ahram Online, in Cairo.

Libyan portal, "Bawabat Al-Wasat", reporting on the interview, said Mr. Warberg was responding to a question about the current US position on two governments and political deadlock in Libya.

The US department spokesperson stated that "the United States supports the sovereignty of the Libyan state" and believes that any solution must be from Libyans themselves.

"Neither the United States, Russia, Turkey nor any other country can impose any solution on the Libyan people," he said.

Mr. Warberg said that the US special envoy to Libya, Richard Norlan, is in contact with all parties, and has held meetings in New York on the margins of the General Assembly meetings, and there has been dialogue with all parties.

"We know that there are countries in the region that have a strong interest in Libya's internal affairs," he said.

The stalemate in Libya's political process following the postponement of the 24 December 2021 elections has been exacerbated by the emergence of two rival governments - that of the Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity (GNU), Abdelhamid al-Dbaiba, and that of the parliament-appointed Government of National Stability (GNS) headed by Fathi Bachagha.

In addition to the executive crisis, the organisation of the general elections has been hampered by the lack of a constitutional basis for holding the polls, as talks between the eastern-based Parliament and the Tripoli-based High Council of State have failed to reach a consensus on the eligibility of dual nationals and military personnel.

-0- PANA BY/JSG/BBA/MA 12Oct2022