The EU top diplomat Josep Borrell visited Libya on Tuesday 1st September for the first time since the beginning of his mandate in a move of support of the relentless efforts of the bloc to advance the political process and engage the conflicting parties in a meaningful dialogue to estalblish lasting peace.

Borrell met with the Chariman of the Government of National Accord (GNA) Faiez Serraj in Tripoli, whose status is argued by his foes, underlining that the mandate was given to him by Skhirat Agreement (17 December 2015) for one year, and has expired a long time ago.

The Hight Representative of EU has also met with Aguila Saleh in Al Qubah from the eastern Libya, the speaker of the House of Representatives, whose status is acknowled by the UN Security Council as the sole legislator of Libya.

In his meetings, Josep Borrell reiterated the EU’s support to an inclusive Libyan-led and Libyan-owned political resolution of the conflict and confirmed that Libya remains on top of the EU’s political agenda. He discussed the latest developments in the country, and conveyed EU’s strong and unwavering commitment to preserve Libya’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and national unity.

The visit of the High Representative took place shortly after the 21 August when both
Chairman Serraj and Speaker Saleh, although not jointly, but nevertheless in separate annoncements declared the for a ceasefire. The other issues of discussions were aimed at the next round of talks of 5+5 Joint Military Commission (JMC) targeted at the ending the fighting in the country, return of foreign fighters, modalities for lifting the oil blockade, and the relaunch of the political process leading to an agreed reform and eventual elections.

In his meetings in Tripoli and Al Qubah, the Borrell welcomed the ceasefire and underlined the need for its prompt sustainable implementation. He was encouraged to hear the determination and commitment from his Libyan interlocutors to work in this direction, and to implement these principles in the framework of the UN-led Berlin process. This process, the EU top diplomat said, is the only international framework that offers a realistic opportunity for the political dialogue needed to bring the Libyan conflict to an end. Further the discussions focused on the required mediation efforts and de-escalation measures, including the enforcement of the UN arms embargo and EU operation Irini’s role in its implementation.

In the meeting with Chairman Serraj and his team members, the High Representative also discussed other issues of common concern, including migration management and the recent public demonstrations.

In Tripoli, Josep Borrell also met with the Chairman of the National Oil Corporation, Mustafa Sanalla to discuss the stressful situation of the oil blockade that urgently requires joint international resolve to prevent a collapse of Libya’s oil sector, which is crucial for Libya’s economy and the prosperity of its people.

During his talks in Al Qubah with Speaker Saleh, the High Representative got additional updates about the situation in eastern Libya and spoke about related prospects for a peaceful resolution of the Libyan conflict.