– Earlier deal ‘unsatisfactory’ –
Libya is gripped by spiralling insecurity with Benghazi, the main city in the country’s east, caught in a daily war between pro- and anti-government militias and forces.
The international community recognises the parliament that sits in the eastern port city of Tobruk, which installed the controversial General Khalifa Haftar as its army chief in March.
A partial peace deal aimed at restoring stability was reached last month, but leaders of the Islamist-backed General National Congress (GNC) parliament that sits in Tripoli boycotted the pact, calling it “unsatisfactory”.
Leon told reporters on Tuesday that all key actors were represented in the new round of talks in Geneva “without exception”.
He laid out an ambitious timetable, calling for a comprehensive deal that installs a new unity government to be concluded before the next UN General Assembly meeting in September, although he warned the process would be complex.
The GNC – which took power after an Islamist militia alliance captured the capital last year – will not sign any deal that safeguards a senior military post for Haftar, according to Mohammed Ali Abdallah Addarrat, who sits in the Tripoli parliament and is the head of the National Front party.
“There will not be an agreement if General Haftar is still expected to lead an army in Libya,” Addarrat said.
“Those who were involved in escalating the political and military crisis in Libya cannot be the ones who lead the solution. This is a given.”
The 72-year-old Haftar served as a general under Gaddafi before relocating to the United States, where he worked at times with the CIA, according to reports in US media.
He returned to Libya last year and took charge of the army, vowing to crush the Islamist militias while urging the West to support his forces.
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