Arab League regrets failure to reach intra-Libya consensus

CAIRO - 5 July 2020: The Arab League (AL) has regretted the failure of a Libyan political forum to reach a consensus on a constitutional rule, under which general elections will be held in December.

In a press release on Monday, an AL official source called on all Libyan parties to set their differences aside and reach an agreement to overcome all obstacles, which will help hold the elections on time.

The Libyan people and the international community - as shown in the Berlin II conference held last month in Berlin - have a strong desire to hold the polls on time without any further delay, the source said, stressing the need for reaching the required consensus to restore Libya's stability.

Since the outbreak of the Libyan crisis nine years ago, Egypt has consistently advocated the need for a comprehensive approach to end the Libyan crisis by dealing with all of its political, economic and social dimensions and not being limited to the security dimension.

Egypt, with its great people and strong army, continues to work for peace and call for the settlement of all crises through political tracks that meet the aspirations of the people and respect the rules of international legitimacy. However, this does not mean surrendering and negotiating with the enemy forces, terrorist militias and mercenaries brought in to threaten regional and international peace and security.

Libya, a major North African oil and gas producer, has enjoyed little peace since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising against Muammar Gaddafi, and the sprawling country has been split since 2014 between rival factions.