U.N. envoy pushes to stop ‘blatant’ embargo violations in Libya
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The U.N. envoy for Libya said he hopes an international conference next month will produce a Security Council resolution committing foreign powers to stopping an escalating proxy war and an accelerated mechanism to enforce an arms embargo.
The conference being organized by Germany is set to be the first major diplomatic push to end fighting that began when eastern-based forces led by Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive on the capital Tripoli six months ago.
It will seek to rally key external players to halt increasingly flagrant violations of a U.N. arms embargo and pressure their allies inside Libya to commit to a ceasefire and a new political process.
“Expressions of hope and encouragement and verbal support are not what I’m looking for – I’m looking for a clear expression of the will to end the war in Libya,” U.N. envoy Ghassan Salame said in an interview.
No date has been set for the conference, which aims to bring together the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council as well as the United Arab Emirates, Italy, Turkey and Egypt.
The UAE and Egypt have long backed Haftar, while France and Russia have also lent him support. Turkey and Italy – the only Western nations to have reopened embassies in Tripoli after previous rounds of fighting – have close ties to the internationally recognized government in the capital.
Salame said there would be a call for a ceasefire at the conference, which he said he hoped would take place in November.
He said the risks of further escalation – including the spread of militancy, a revival of migrant flows to Europe, disruption of oil supplies, and regional instability – could help produce a deal among foreign powers.
