Breakthrough meeting for Fayez Sarraj and Khalifa Haftar

Libya

Published on Thursday, 11 May 2017 Back to articles
Sarraj And Haftar
Fayez Sarraj, head of the Presidency Council and Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar

The head of the Presidency Council, Fayez Serraj and Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar met — for the first time since January 2016 — in Abu Dhabi on 2 May. The one-hour session came weeks after  the House of Representatives’ head, Aguila Saleh, met in Rome with the head of the Higher State Council, Abdulrahman al-Suwheili, under the auspices of the Italian foreign ministry.

Both meetings were a direct result of intense international and regional pressure on Libya’s warring parties. The UAE and Egypt have been instrumental in getting Haftar to finally agree to meet with Sarraj.

While neither meeting culminated in an official joint statement or communiqué, together they represent some of the key players’ new willingness to resolve the conflict.

Pundits speculate that Sarraj will have to offer Haftar significant concessions to bring him on board. This includes the potential cancelling of Article 8 of the Additional Provisions of the Libyan Political Agreement of December 2015 which would open the way for Haftar to take charge of Libya’s military and security spheres.

A host of hard-line figures in western Libya have already rejected the meeting, with some militias from Misrata threatening to clear supporters of the Presidency Council out of Tripoli. Less hard-line western forces, including those backing the Presidency Council, have yet to show their hand. These groups fear that the political process is slanted in favour of the Haftar camp.

Meaningful progress, at last

Intense diplomatic pressure is paying off for the first time in many months.

The House of Representatives announced its willingness to return to the political dialogue in mid-April. Aguila Saleh then held a face-to-face meeting with Abdulrahman al-Suwheili in Rome. This was the first time the two leaders had met since the crisis began and, according to the Higher State Council, it was held in an ‘atmosphere of friendliness and openness.’ … [article continues]

This is an excerpt from an article in our monthly Libya Focus publication.

Related articles

  • Libya

    The growing power of Khalifa Haftar’s sons

    Published on Friday, 15 March 2024

  • Libya

    Libya: House escalates financial strangulation of the GNU 

    Published on Monday, 26 February 2024

  • Libya

    Prime Minister Dbeibah provokes serious backlash over fuel subsidies

    Published on Friday, 19 January 2024

  • Libya

    NOC navigates Libya’s political turbulence to boost production

    Published on Monday, 27 November 2023