Second Round of Libyan Dialogue Ends with ‘Issues of Agreement, Dispute’

UN envoy to Libya Ghassan Salameh. (Reuters)
UN envoy to Libya Ghassan Salameh. (Reuters)
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Second Round of Libyan Dialogue Ends with ‘Issues of Agreement, Dispute’

UN envoy to Libya Ghassan Salameh. (Reuters)
UN envoy to Libya Ghassan Salameh. (Reuters)

United Nations envoy to Libya Ghassan Salameh stated on Saturday that the second round of dialogue between the disputed Libyan factions led to agreements on some issues and disagreement on others.

He stressed during a press conference in Tunisia: “The delegation will work on drafting all issues of agreement and resolving pending points.”

The joint parliament and higher state council drafting committee has been convening in order to amend the Skhirat agreement.

Salameh said that members of the joint committee will return to Libya on Sunday.

He hailed the positive atmosphere that pervaded the meeting, voicing the delegation’s commitment to implement the work plan that was proposed by the special representative on September 20.

The plan, which was adopted by the UN Security Council, calls for staging free and transparent elections within a year of their announcement in order to end the political deadlock in Libya.

“There is room for understanding on all points of the plan … but there remain some issues that need to be discussed with the political leaderships,” Salameh explained.

An informed source told Asharq Al-Awsat that “some tensions” were witnessed at the talks, revealing that each side remained committed to their interests in regards to nominating candidates to the new presidential council.

The council will be formed of a president and two lawmakers.

The Skhirat agreement was signed in Morocco in December 2015.

Prior to Saturday’s meetings, Salameh had received criticism from residents of southern Libya because he had failed to visit them during his recent tour of the western region.

In a televised address to the South, he said: “Everyday, I become more aware of the major challenges you are facing.”

He highlighted the southerners’ national role in preserving Libya’s unity, acknowledging their needs and recognizing that the aid provided by UN agencies is still not enough.



Trump, Netanyahu Meet Again as Gaps Said to Narrow in Gaza Ceasefire Talks

07 July 2025, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump receives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak privately in the Vermeil Room before a dinner at the White House. (Daniel Torok/White House/dpa)
07 July 2025, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump receives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak privately in the Vermeil Room before a dinner at the White House. (Daniel Torok/White House/dpa)
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Trump, Netanyahu Meet Again as Gaps Said to Narrow in Gaza Ceasefire Talks

07 July 2025, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump receives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak privately in the Vermeil Room before a dinner at the White House. (Daniel Torok/White House/dpa)
07 July 2025, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump receives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak privately in the Vermeil Room before a dinner at the White House. (Daniel Torok/White House/dpa)

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday met for a second time in two days with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss Gaza as Trump's Middle East envoy said Israel and Hamas were closing their differences on a ceasefire deal.

Netanyahu arrived at the White House shortly before 5 p.m. EDT for a meeting that was not expected to be open to the press. The two men met for several hours during a dinner at the White House on Monday during the Israeli leader's third US visit since the president began his second term on January 20.

Netanyahu met with Vice President JD Vance and then visited the US Capitol on Tuesday. He told reporters after a meeting with the Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson that while he did not think Israel's campaign in the Palestinian enclave was done, negotiators are "certainly working" on a ceasefire.

"We have still to finish the job in Gaza, release all our hostages, eliminate and destroy Hamas' military and government capabilities," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu's return to the White House to see Trump on Tuesday pushed back his meeting with US Senate leaders to Wednesday.

Shortly after Netanyahu spoke, Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said the issues keeping Israel and Hamas from agreeing had dropped to one from four and he hoped to reach a temporary ceasefire agreement this week.

"We are hopeful that by the end of this week, we'll have an agreement that will bring us into a 60-day ceasefire. Ten live hostages will be released. Nine deceased will be released," Witkoff told reporters at a meeting of Trump's Cabinet.

The Gaza war erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Some 50 hostages remain in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive.

Israel's retaliatory war in Gaza has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's health ministry. Most of Gaza's population has been displaced by the war and nearly half a million people are facing famine within months, according to United Nations estimates.

Trump had strongly supported Netanyahu, even wading into domestic Israeli politics by criticizing prosecutors over a corruption trial against the Israeli leader on bribery, fraud and breach-of-trust charges that Netanyahu denies.

In his remarks to reporters at the US Congress, Netanyahu praised Trump, saying there has never been closer coordination between the US and Israel in his country's history.