Libyan rivals to meet in Geneva late June: UN adviser

By Mahmoud Barakat

ANKARA (AA) – The speaker of Libya’s Parliament and the head of the High Council of State have agreed to meet in Geneva by the end of June, UN special adviser on Libya Stephanie Williams said on Thursday.

“I am pleased to confirm that Speaker of the House of Representatives Aguila Saleh and President of the High Council of State Khaled Al-Mishri have accepted my invitation to meet at the UN Office at Geneva 28-29 June to discuss the draft constitutional framework for elections,” Williams tweeted.

The UN adviser commended the heads of the two chambers “for committing to seek consensus on the remaining issues after last week’s Joint Committee meeting in Cairo.”

On Monday, Williams urged both officials to meet to discuss the conflicting points that hinder progress in the talks of the Constitutional Track Committee following the conclusion of the third and final round of talks in the Egyptian capital.

The UN adviser had attempted to arrange a meeting between Saleh and al-Mishri in Cairo last week, but the meeting failed to take place due to difference on the agenda of the talks.

Egypt hosted the third and last round of the UN-sponsored talks in an effort to reach consensus on the constitutional framework to hold Libya’s long-awaited elections.

Libyans are still waiting for the stalled polls to take place in the hope that the vote will contribute to ending years of armed conflict that has plagued the oil-rich country.