APS : Tuesday, 22 March 2016
TUNIS- Minister of Maghreb Affairs, African Union and Arab League Abdelkader Messahel underlined Tuesday in Tunis that there were no “alternative” to a political solution supported by the international community to end the crisis in Libya,
adding that the establishment in Tripoli of the government proposed by Libya’s Presidential Council is the only way to achieve a national upsurge.
“It is the national upsurge to which aspire the Libyan people, who are facing serious economic and humanitarian crisis, exacerbated by the terrorist threat,” said Messahel in his speech at the 8th ministerial meeting of Libya’s neighbouring countries.
“Algeria, which has spared no effort to help Libyan brothers getting closer together and reaching an agreement, is committed to assisting the national unity government, once installed, and help it overcome the difficulties and challenges in the establishment of new Libyan institutions and the fight against terrorism, which is threatening the brotherly country and also the security and stability of neighbouring countries,” stressed the minister.
In this regard, Messahel underlined that Algeria “has expressed, on several occasions, its rejection of military intervention as a solution in Libya, because it is convinced that this would further worsen the crisis.”
“Experiences have, certainly, confirmed this truth,” he said, adding that he was convinced that Libyans are able to resolve their differences without any foreign interference in their internal affairs, through the political solution they agreed on.
“We have to encourage them and assist them in this process, which would help preserve the territorial and national unity of Libya, and would strengthen the cohesion of its people,” said Messahel.
“The political agreement, approved by the international community through the resolution 2259 of the UN Security Council on 23 December 2015, was essential for the Libyan national community, which has charted the way forward to end the crisis and combat terrorism,” added the minister.
Messahel also hoped that “consultation between Libya’s neighbouring countries would help Libyans to resolve the crisis, which is directly threatening the security and stability of their country and the region.”
The political agreement between Libyans “would bring much hope for a better future, with the reconciliation, security and stability in a State, whose institutions strive for the construction and the development of the country and the fight against terrorism,” he added.
Messahel underlined that Algeria was the first country that called for the formation of a national unity government, which would in charge of managing the transition and urged Libyans to unite and implement the political agreement, especially the establishment of the government in Tripoli.
