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Guterres Urges Security Council to Unify Stance amid US-Russian Differences over Libya

Stephanie Williams upon her arrival in the southern Libyan city of Sebha earlier this week. (Twitter account of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Libya)
Stephanie Williams upon her arrival in the southern Libyan city of Sebha earlier this week. (Twitter account of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Libya)
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Guterres Urges Security Council to Unify Stance amid US-Russian Differences over Libya

Stephanie Williams upon her arrival in the southern Libyan city of Sebha earlier this week. (Twitter account of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Libya)
Stephanie Williams upon her arrival in the southern Libyan city of Sebha earlier this week. (Twitter account of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Libya)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged on Friday the members of the Security Council to unify their stance over extending the mandate of the UN mission in Libya (UNSMIL), which ends Jan. 31, following a disagreement between the US and Russia.

Moscow has demanded the UN secretary general’s special advisor on Libya, American Stephanie Williams, be replaced.

The Security Council was scheduled to vote Thursday on a draft resolution prepared by Britain to extend UNSMIL’s mission until Sept. 15, after the text was amended more than once in an attempt to overcome the disagreement on many issues, including the position on the presidential and legislative elections and the mandate granted to the UN mission.

The Russian side insisted on appointing a special envoy to succeed Slovakian Jan Kubis, who resigned last November, but differences within the Council prompted Guterres to name Williams as a special advisor, but who is assuming the duties of the envoy.

Russia was purportedly ready to exercise its veto right to obstruct the adoption of the resolution and to submit an alternative draft-resolution, calling on the Secretary-General to appoint a new special envoy “without delay” and limit the mandate to three months, which prompted Britain to postpone the voting session to make room for further negotiations.

Divisions between UN members are not a “good signal” to Libyans and “will not help Stephanie Williams” in her current role, a diplomatic source said.

Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, had demanded the appointment of a new mediator in Libya, saying: “It’s important that the Secretary-General present a candidate for this position as soon as possible… The UN envoy must have sufficient experience in the framework of a mandate decided by the Security Council.”

He added: “Unfortunately, we do not have such a person at the head of the mission at the moment.”

In comments during his daily press briefing, UN Secretary General Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Guterres was implementing the mandate granted to him by the Security Council, calling on the Council members to show “unity and clarity.”

Guterres is currently working closely with members of the Security Council in order to achieve the interests of the UN Mission in Libya as well as the interests of the Libyans, Dujarric emphasized.

He continued: “The Secretary-General is extremely grateful for all the work that Stephanie Williams has done in her previous capacity... and what she continues to do on the Libyan file as special advisor. She’s done a very, very good job in [the] face of a very difficult situation.”

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Lebanon’s PM Visits Syrian President to Discuss Border Demarcation and Security

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)
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Lebanon’s PM Visits Syrian President to Discuss Border Demarcation and Security

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam led a high-level ministerial delegation to Syria on Monday for talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, marking the most significant diplomatic visit between the two countries since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December.

"My visit to Damascus today aims to open a new page in the history of relations between the two countries, based on mutual respect, restoring trust, good neighborliness," Salam said in a statement on X.

At the center of discussions was implementing a March 28 agreement signed in Saudi Arabia by the Syrian and Lebanese defense ministers to demarcate land and sea borders and improve coordination on border security issues, Salam said in the statement.

The Lebanese-Syrian border witnessed deadly clashes earlier this year and years of unrest in the frontier regions, which have been plagued by weapons and illicit drug smuggling through illegal crossings.

During Monday’s meeting, Salam and Sharaa agreed to form a joint ministerial committee to oversee the implementation of the border agreement, close illegal crossings and suppress smuggling activity along the border.

The border area, especially near Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley and Syria’s Qusayr region, has long been a corridor for illicit trade, arms trafficking, and the movement of fighters — including Hezbollah fighters who backed the Assad government during Syria’s 14-year civil war.

Hezbollah has been significantly weakened in its recent war with Israel and since Assad's ousting, it lost several key smuggling routes it once relied on for weapons transfers.

Lebanon also pressed Syria to provide clarity on the fate of thousands of Lebanese nationals who were forcibly disappeared or imprisoned in Syrian jails in the 1980s and 1990s, during Syria’s nearly 30-year military presence in Lebanon. Human rights groups have long documented the lack of accountability and transparency regarding these cases, with families of the missing holding regular demonstrations in Beirut demanding answers.

Syrian officials for their part raised the issue of Syrian nationals detained in Lebanese prisons, Salam said. Many of the detainees were arrested for illegal entry or alleged involvement in militant activity. Rights advocates in both countries have criticized the lack of due process in many of these cases and the poor conditions inside detention facilities.

Lebanon pledged to hand over people implicated in crimes committed by the Assad government and security forces, many of whom are believed to have fled to Lebanon after the government’s collapse, if found on Lebanese soil, a ministerial source told The Associated Press.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to publicly comment.

In return, Lebanese officials requested the extradition of Syrians wanted in Lebanese courts for high-profile political assassinations, "most notably those involved in the bombing of the Al-Taqwa and Al-Salam mosques, those convicted of assassinating President Bashir Gemayel, and other crimes for which the Assad regime is accused," Salam said.

For decades, Lebanon witnessed a long series of politically motivated assassinations targeting journalists, politicians and security officials, particularly those opposed to Syrian influence. The 2013 twin bombings of the Al-Taqwa and Al-Salam mosques in Tripoli in northern Lebanon killed more than 40 people and intensified sectarian tensions already heightened by the spillover from the Syrian war.

Syria has never officially acknowledged involvement in any of Lebanon’s political assassinations.

Salam said he also pushed for renewed cooperation on the return of Syrian refugees.

Lebanese government officials estimate the country hosts about 1.5 million Syrian refugees, of whom about 755,000 are officially registered with the UN refugee agency, or UNHCR, making it the country with the highest number of refugees per capita in the world.

While Lebanese authorities have long urged the international community to support large-scale repatriation efforts, human rights organizations have cautioned against forced returns, citing ongoing security concerns and a lack of guarantees in Syria.

Since the fall of Assad in December, an estimated 400,000 refugees have returned to Syria from neighboring countries, according to UNHCR, with about half of them coming from Lebanon, but many are hesitant to return because of the dire economic situation and fears of continuing instability in Syria.