Libyan Dialogue Resumes in Tangier

Libyan officials meet in Tangier on Monday. (MAP)
Libyan officials meet in Tangier on Monday. (MAP)
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Libyan Dialogue Resumes in Tangier

Libyan officials meet in Tangier on Monday. (MAP)
Libyan officials meet in Tangier on Monday. (MAP)

A new round of Libyan dialogue kicked off in the Moroccan city of Tangier on Monday.

The talks are being held between the High Council of State, based in Tripoli, and the Tobruk parliament, based in the east.

The latest discussions are focusing on the issue of sovereign positions in the hope of reaching an agreement that can then be proposed before parliament for a vote.

Asharq Al-Awsat learned that the talks will continue until Tuesday.

Lawmakers, meanwhile, are set to convene in the Libyan city of Ghadames on Wednesday, in the first ever meeting between them after years of disputes.

Meanwhile, member of the High Council of State, Abdulqader al-Hweily said parties meeting in Tangier are seeking to push forward dialogue in order to resolve the Libyan crisis.

MP Hammad al-Obeidy expressed his optimism that the Tangier meeting will yield positive results, noting that it is being held after previous rounds of talks in Tunisia that he described as “complicated”.

He added that both sides have expressed “very similar” positions this time around, expecting that they will reach results that will facilitate future rounds of talks.



Kurdish PKK Militants to Hand over First Weapons in Ceremony in Iraq

PKK militants in northern Iraq (Reuters)
PKK militants in northern Iraq (Reuters)
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Kurdish PKK Militants to Hand over First Weapons in Ceremony in Iraq

PKK militants in northern Iraq (Reuters)
PKK militants in northern Iraq (Reuters)

Dozens of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants will hand over their weapons in a ceremony in northern Iraq on Friday, marking a symbolic but significant first step toward ending a decades-long insurgency with Türkiye.

The PKK, locked in conflict with the Turkish state and outlawed since 1984, decided in May to disband, disarm and end its armed struggle after a public call to do so from its long-imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan, Reuters said.

After a series of failed peace efforts, the new initiative could pave the way for Ankara to end an insurgency that has killed over 40,000 people, burdened the economy and wrought deep social and political divisions in Türkiye and the wider region.

Around 40 PKK militants and one commander were expected to hand over their weapons at the ceremony in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah, people familiar with the plan said. The PKK is based in northern Iraq after being pushed well beyond Türkiye’s frontier in recent years.

The arms are to be destroyed later in another ceremony attended by Turkish and Iraqi intelligence figures, officials of Iraq's Kurdistan regional government, and senior members of Türkiye's pro-Kurdish DEM party - which also played a key role in facilitating the PKK's disarmament decision.

The PKK, DEM and Ocalan have all called on Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's government to address Kurdish political demands. In a rare online video published on Wednesday, Ocalan also urged Türkiye's parliament to set up a commission to oversee disarmament and manage the broader peace process.

Ankara has taken steps toward forming the commission, while the DEM and Ocalan have said that legal assurances and certain mechanisms were needed to smooth the PKK's transition into democratic politics.

Erdogan has said his government would not allow any attempts to sabotage the disarmament process, adding he would give people "historic good news".

Omer Celik, a spokesman for Erdogan's AK Party, said the disarmament process should not be allowed to drag on longer than a few months to avoid it becoming subject to provocations.