Foreign Minister Steinmeier on Libyan peace talks

By Germany - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

BERLIN, Germany, June 17, 2015/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Foreign Minister Steinmeier issued the following statement in Berlin on the Libyan peace talks:

If what we are hearing from the field is accurate then we have taken an important step forward with the meeting in Berlin. For the first time in a long while, there could be hope of the Parliaments in Tobruk and Tripoli accepting, at least in principle, the settlement proposed by Bernardino León – even if both sides might like to amend certain details. There are, however, still forces on both sides trying to sabotage an agreement.

Background information:

On Wednesday, 10 June, Foreign Minister Steinmeier hosted a meeting in Berlin which gave the 23 Libyan participants in the UN-mediated peace talks the opportunity to exchange views with the Libya commissioners of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council as well as those of Italy, Spain and the EU. The meeting in Berlin was the first successful attempt to bring all the delegations involved in the negotiations around one table.

On 9 June, UN Special Envoy to Libya Bernardino León presented the amended draft of a peace agreement which aims to end the current fighting and facilitate the continuation of a political transition process. Its key component is the creation of a government of national unity. León wants to continue and conclude negotiations on the text on the basis of this agreement.