Washington, DC - Joint statement by the Governments of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States:
The Governments of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States welcome the resumption of the Libyan political dialogue in Skhirat, Morocco. We strongly support the efforts of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, Bernardino Leon, the UNSMIL team and the Libyan participants and congratulate them all on the progress made so far. We urge those taking part in the dialogue to enter into the discussions constructively and in good faith in order to reach agreement on a National Unity Government and arrangements for a ceasefire as quickly as possible.
We look forward to the meeting of Libyan municipalities to be hosted by the European Union in Brussels on 23/24 March, which will be an opportunity to discuss the implementation of the confidence building measures agreed upon at the last meeting in Geneva, the provision of urgently needed humanitarian aid and certain security arrangements on the ground.
We also welcome the meeting of political parties and political activists held in Algeria on 10/11 March and note the resolve of the participants to send a strong, clear and unified message on their full commitment to the dialogue as the only solution to the crisis in Libya, their refusal to resort to violence to settle political differences, their full rejection of all types of military escalation and their call for an immediate cessation of military operations to enable the dialogue to continue in a conducive environment.
In this context we strongly condemn the attack on Aziziyah on 19/20 March, ongoing air attacks on Zintan and Metiga Airports and Tripoli, and all other acts of violence. We deeply regret the fact that the warring parties refuse to stop the fighting, endangering civilian lives and leading to the destruction of Libya’s national infrastructure. We call on the Libyan political leaderships to act responsibly and to make clear their support for the dialogue and call on them to exercise authority over military and militia leaders and ensure civilian oversight and control of their actions and disavow military actions not taken in that framework. Those who seek to impede the UN process and Libya’s democratic transition, four years after the revolution, will not be allowed to condemn Libya to chaos and extremism. They will be held by accountable for their actions by the Libyan people and the international community, including through the sanctions provided for in Security Council Resolution 2174.
We are deeply concerned about the growing threat from terrorist groups in Libya, including Da’esh, who have expanded their presence in Libya as a result of the absence of a strong, united, central Government in the country. The United Nations-led process to establish a National Unity Government provides the best hope for Libyans to address this terrorist threat and to confront the violence and instability that impedes Libya’s political transition and development. The international community is prepared to fully support a unity government in addressing Libya’s challenges.
