US Ambassador: The situation in Libya is worrying, and our role is to prevent being drawn into violence and escalation.

Tripoli, March 17, 2022 (LANA) - The US ambassador to Libya, Richard Norland, said that the situation in Libya is worrying and perplexing to most Libyans, as the country faces the risk of being drawn into violence. Our main role at the moment is to push the relevant parties not to be drawn into violence and escalation.

This came in a press conference held today, Thursday, at Corinthia Hotel in the capital, Tripoli, in which he discussed his meetings with the Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity, the Governor of the Central Bank of Libya and the Minister of Finance, in addition to the Economic Working Group.

Norland affirmed the cooperation of international bodies and international partners with the Libyan parties in order to find a mechanism to restore life to the political process and enable the Libyans to participate in the elections, praising the proposal made by the UN adviser, Stephanie Williams, and the Support Mission in Libya on finding a consensual constitutional base between the House of Representatives and the Supreme Council of State, considering it an important proposal and worthy of support.

On the lack of clarity in the US position on the current political situation in Libya, Norland said: "We are not in a position to choose either side. This issue concerns the Libyans, and the Libyans must take this decision."

The American ambassador added that he met with Prime Minister Abdel Hamid al-Dbaiba today, as well as the Prime Minister-designate of the House of Representatives, Fathi Bash-Agha, stressing that what matters to him is the consensus of the political forces in Libya, especially that both of them are from the city of Misurata and know each other, so the agreement between them is possible.

He also indicated that talking about the government will shift attention away from the elections, saying this is something we do not want and we want to focus on the electoral process, explaining that there are those who believe that it is unrealistic to think about elections before another year, because the process takes time, considering that this is not true; Libya always has the ability to cause surprise, and if there is political will and political consensus, then elections are possible within a few months.

Regarding the threat to use military force and his country’s position on a military operation in Libya and Tripoli in particular, Norland said that the ceasefire is in good practice, and in the case of the current situation and the resulting discontent, the international community must look closely at the situation in Libya and try to know who is responsible and how to hold him accountable.

=Lana=