Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told Asharq Al-Awsat on Thursday that UN and German officials are actively preparing for holding a second international summit on Libya in October.
Despite preparations being still underway, a German source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the conference has been slotted for October 5, 2020.
“The German government and the United Nations have announced an online summit for Libya, scheduled for October 5,” DPA news agency reported.
The meeting will include Guterres, foreign ministers, and representatives of the warring parties in Libya, as well as representatives from Germany and the UN, the US, Britain, France, China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the Republic of Congo, Italy, Egypt and Algeria as well as the European Union, the African Union and the Arab League.
The meeting comes after Berlin organized a summit in January, where parties agreed to stop supplying weapons to the warring factions.
In other news, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Thursday welcomed the decision by Prime Minister of Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez Al-Sarraj on his intention to resign and hand over power to the next executive authority by the end of next October.
Acting Special Representative of UN Secretary General Stephanie Williams praised as "brave" the decision taken by Sarraj.
Sarraj's announcement is a "crucial" step in the protracted Libyan crisis, the Mission quoted Williams as saying in a statement.
She said the concerned Libyan parties should fully assume their responsibilities before the Libyans, make "historic" decisions and accept mutual concessions for the sake of their homeland.
She stressed that the recent meetings among the Libyan parties in Switzerland, Egypt and Morocco are an opportunity for resuming the intra-Libyan political talks.
She urged the international community to fulfill its responsibilities, respect Libya's sovereignty, stop interfering in the country's internal affairs and fully adhere to the arms embargo imposed by the UN, according to the statement.
On Wednesday, Al-Sarraj declared his intention to step down and hand over power by the end of next October to help the dialogue committee complete measures to get out of the Libyan security and political crisis. He also welcomed the outcomes of the UN-brokered negotiations.
