We appreciate El-Sisi and Egyptian army for supporting Libya: Libyan parliament’s spokesman

Cairo – Since the ousting of ex-leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, a wave of political and security crises hit Libya and posed serious threats to Egypt’s national security due to smuggling of weapons and infiltration of terrorists to the Egyptian territories through the western borders in the aftermath of the so-called Arab Spring revolution.

“Al-Bawaba News” conducted an interview with Spokesperson of Libyan parliament Abdullah Bilhaq who expressed his appreciation to Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and the Egyptian army for their support of legitimacy in Libya. He stressed that if Egypt, Emirates and Jordan did not support the Libyan army, all Libyan cities would have become under control of the terrorist groups.

What are the sides of cooperation between Egyptian and Libyan parliaments?

Libya is new to parliamentary life. We attempt to benefit from Egypt’s great experience in this regard. Speaker of Libyan parliament Aguila Saleh visited Egypt and met with his Egyptian counterpart to discuss the ways to increase cooperation between the two parliaments.

How do you assess the latest visit of Marshal Khalifa Haftar to Egypt?

The visit comes to express Libyan appreciation to Egypt’s army and parliament for their support for the Libyan efforts to eliminate terrorism. We appreciate Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi for his support for legitimacy in Libya. He stressed the importance of Egypt’s support for the military efforts exerted by the Libyan National Army to eliminate the terrorist groups that were controlling large swaths of the Libyan territories in the eastern side of the country.

Egypt hosted a number of meetings between Libyan parties, how do you assess the results of these meetings?

We thank the Egyptian government for hosting these meetings and its efforts to find solutions for the Libyan crisis. We are confident of the honest intention of the Egyptian leadership to achieve political reconciliation between the different political parties. Such meetings play a major role to bridge the gap of difference between the Libyan political parties, hailing Egypt’s insistence on involving the tribal leaders in these meetings, as those tribal leaders enjoy their influence on the members of their tribes and they could play a major role to end the crisis.

IS terrorist group sent threats to “Al-Bawaba News” and its Editor-in-Chief Abdel-Rehim Ali, how do you see such threats?

I have followed with great concern those threats that come as a result of the effective role of the newspaper to expose their ideas. “Al-Bawaba News” launched campaigns to refute the extremist ideas promoted by the extremists and to promote moderation among the Egyptian people so the extremists attempt to retaliate against the newspaper by launching such threats.

How does the Libyan parliament assess the efforts exerted by the new UN envoy to Libya?

The new UN envy met with a number of figures from the different Libyan parties since he took the responsibility. He also visited a number of Libyan cities to bridge the gap of difference between the conflicting parties in the country. He met with a number of parliamentarians in Tunisia to discuss their viewpoints about the amendment of Skhirat Agreement signed in December 2015 to resolve the Libyan crisis. He also discussed the humanitarian situation in the country during the current critical economic situation witnessed in the country.

Congo is scheduled to host an exceptional AU Summit to discuss the situation in Libya on September 9, do you think such summit will achieve positive results?

Libyan parliament has no conditions to sit on negotiations table except commitment to the Constitutional Decree. We appreciate all efforts exerted by the different parties, including the neighboring states and AU, to end the current division and to turn a new page in the country’s political situation.

Marshal Khalifa Haftar met with Head of Libya’s Presidency Council in Paris, how do you assess the results of this meeting?

We expressed our optimism in the beginning that the meeting would pave the way for resolving the crisis, while Sarraj’s visit to Rome and movements of the Italian military boats towards the Libyan coasts fueled the situation and undermined confidence between the Presidency Council on one hand and parliament and the army on the other hand.

Chad cut diplomatic relations with Qatar accusing it of financing terrorist groups in Libya, what is your comment?

This is what we said for years. The Qatari government manipulated the security situation in Libya since the ousting of former leader Muammar Gaddafi. The Qatari government was keen to provide the extremist militias with financial and military support. The Qatari regime should bear the responsibility for the deterioration witnessed in the country during the current period.