Fayez al-Sarraj, the leader of Libya’s UN-backed government, has held his first direct talks with Khalifa Haftar, a military strongman who controls swaths of the country’s east, as diplomatic efforts to end six years of violence in the North African nation intensify.
The United Arab Emirates, which hosted the meeting, said on Wednesday that the talks achieved a “significant breakthrough”, but provided no other details.
Egypt and the UAE have been spearheading regional efforts to mediate between rival authorities in eastern and western Libya as fighting has threatened to plunge the country into all-out war. An attempt by Egypt to bring the two leaders together in Cairo in February foundered when Mr Haftar refused to meet Mr Sarraj.
“This is an important political signal given what happened in Cairo,” said a western diplomat.
Libya has been plagued by conflict and political chaos since the 2011 uprising that toppled dictator Muammar Gadafy.
Fighting between rival factions has hit the Opec member’s oil output and meant that Mr Sarraj’s Tripoli-based government has little influence outside the capital. It has also heightened concerns among European countries desperate to stem the flow of migrants from Libya to the continent.
Control of the east
Mr Haftar’s self-declared Libyan National Army controls the east and has been clashing with allies of the Tripoli administration in southern Libya. His forces also recently retook crucial oil facilities on the Mediterranean coast
Mr Sarraj’s government, which was established in Tripoli in 2016, relies on militias from the powerful western city of Misurata for protection.
Libyan media close to Mr Haftar said the two men have agreed on holding presidential and parliamentary elections next year at their talks, but there has been no word from Mr Sarraj’s side.
Analysts warn that there are serious challenges before any agreement is reached.
Chief among those is securing the assent of the Misuratans who are a formidable fighting force and who see in Mr Haftar a potential military dictator. He has the backing of Egypt, which wants a strong leader to bring Libya under control and ensure the security of their shared border.
“I don’t see where western Libya, including Misurata and the militias in Tripoli, fits into the picture yet,” said Mattia Toaldo, senior analyst at the European Council on Foreign Affairs. “I think what matters about the meeting is Mr Haftar’s change of strategy and he is willing to have dialogue with the end goal of an election.”
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2017