Panafrican News Agency

Tunisian leader invited to AU summit on Libya due for 25 January in Brazzaville

Tripoli, Libya (PANA)  -  Tunisian President Kaïs Saïed Friday received an invitation to participate in a summit of heads of state and government of ten African member-countries of the high level committee of the African Union on Libya scheduled for 25 January in the Congolese capital, Brazzaville, to unify the “African position on the Libyan crisis”, official sources said here.

The high level committee of AU heads of state and government on Libya is chaired by Congo with South Africa, Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Mauritania, Niger, Chad and Tunisia as member-countries.

According to a communiqué issued by the Tunisian presidency, President Saïed received the invitation during a meeting here Friday with the Congolese ministry of foreign affairs, cooperation and Congolese living abroad, Jean-Claude Gakosso, special envoy of President Denis Sassou Nguesso, chairman of the high level committee of AU heads of state and government on Libya.

The communiqué said the meeting focused "on the efforts deployed at the regional and international levels to reach political solution to the Libyan crisis".

The Tunisian president reaffirmed "his country’s position calling for the immediate creation of conditions for peaceful solution to the ongoing crisis with the participation of the Libyans themselves" and “the initiative in which he met with the representatives of Libyan tribes and societies in Tunisia to conclude a deal that contributes to end the bloodshed and the national reconciliation far from foreign interference and influence".

The envoy of the Congolese president said at the end of the meeting that "Tunisia is the most qualified country to play key role and get closer the viewpoints of Libyan parties in a bid to find definitive solution to the crisis".

He added that "the gravity of the situation in Libya calls urgent action to reach a unified position for African countries, seeing that that the divergent visions weaken the African position", underlining "the need for easing of tension, the proclamation of ceasefire and the commitment to international legitimacy".

The sources said diplomatic manoeuvring had intensified over the past few days with meetings and telephone interviews of any kind, as well as the initiatives of the world leaders to discuss the search for solution to the crisis in Libya which accelerated over the past few weeks with a new military escalation exacerbated by the interference of foreign countries.

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during their Wednesday meeting in Ankara, proposed a ceasefire to Libyan belligerents starting from Saturday 11 January.

The efforts are all within the framework of the international Berlin Conference aiming to proclaim ceasefire, end the movement of weapons on Libya by strengthening the arm embargo, end foreign interference and promote the resumption of the political process to conclude a deal and resolve the crisis.

 

-0-   PANA    BY/BEH/MSA/RA    10Jan2020