Tunisia to host new round of talks between Libya’s rivals

Sara Rashad

Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya Stephanie Williams has selected Tunisia to be the venue of a new round of talks between Libya’s rivals.

The talks will be held late in October, according to the mission.

It said in a statement that Libya’s rivals will discuss the results of talks held between Libya’s rival parties since early September.

Officials from the Tripoli-based Supreme State Council and eastern Libya’s parliament held talks on October 11 in Cairo on the constitutional course Libya should take in the coming months.

The talks held in Cairo are part of consultations between Libya’s rival parties in three Arab capitals. They aim at finding a way out of Libya’s current crisis and formulating a transitional vision to be agreed by all parties on the Libyan stage.

Goals

According to the UN mission, the talks in Tunisia aim at reaching agreement on the framework and arrangements of Libya’s rule and then a timetable for general elections.

It added that those participating in the talks would represent all political players and forces on the Libyan stage.

Those participating in the talks will not assume any political or sovereign positions in Libya in the future. They will also abstain from using any hate speech or language.

The meetings in Tunisia will include direct talks and others that will be held via videoconference, according to the UN Mission in Libya.

Tunisia

The mission did not mention the reasons for selecting Tunisia to be the venue of this round of talks between Libya’s forces.

The Tunisian presidency and government take a neutral position to Libya. However, the Ennahda Movement, which controls the Tunisian parliament, pushes toward more closeness with the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord which receives support from a large number of armed militias operating in different parts of Libya.