U.S. Ambassador to AU,, U.S. Envoy to Libya meet with diplomats from African Union countries
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - U.S. Ambassador to the African Union (AU) Jesse Lapenn and U.S. Special Envoy and Ambassador to Libya Richard Norland met Monday with their counterparts from African Union member states, a U.S. diplomatic source said.
In a tweet, the U.S. Embassy in Libya said the meeting included "Algerian Ambassador El-Hamdi Salah, Chadian Ambassador Hassan and representatives of African countries currently members of the UN Security Council", without revealing more details on the agenda of the meeting.
It should be noted that the Security Council must hold a session before the end of July to renew the mandate of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) which is the subject of a disagreement between the United States and Russia which has prevented to operate an extension of one year, as usual, being satisfied with four temporary technical extensions.
In addition, the action of the UN executive body is stalled on the appointment of a new Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General to Libya, which is among the topics of the upcoming session on Libya.
African countries are determined to appoint a new Special Envoy to Libya from the African continent, according to African diplomatic sources in the UN Security Council.
The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Wahida Ayari, recalled that the African Union High-Level Committee on Libya intends to hold an inclusive conference for comprehensive national reconciliation, indicating that Libyans will determine its agenda as a Libyan conference under African auspices.
Mrs. Ayari suggested that the conference will be a complementary path should the current path fail, explaining that the Union is focused on national reconciliation and support for the existing political path adopted by the international community in Berlin 1.
-0- PANA BY/IS/MTA/RA 11July2022
