Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) and France denied on Tuesday reports that a meeting will be held in Paris between Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Haftar and GNA chief Fayez al-Sarraj.
A spokesman for Sarraj said: “There will be no meeting with Haftar, not in the near or distant future and regardless of the international mediations.”
A spokeswoman for the Elysee in Paris denied that a meeting had been scheduled this week between Sarraj and Haftar.
French media had recently reported that President Emmanuel Macron was seeking to host the two Libyan rivals at a summit in Paris. Speaker of the east-based parliament Aguila Saleh was also set to be invited to the event that was reportedly scheduled for Thursday under the sponsorship of the United Nations and participation of Germany and Italy.
The talks were aimed at “deepening” the Libyan consultations and supporting French efforts to reach a new agreement to resolve the current crisis.
Sarraj, meanwhile, has not commented on his alleged intention to resign in coming days.
Sarraj plans to announce his resignation soon but will stay on in a caretaker capacity through negotiations for a new government in Geneva next month, according to officials familiar with his thinking, reported Bloomberg.
By announcing his resignation, he would relieve some of the pressure on himself while setting the stage for his exit after the Geneva talks, two officials told Bloomberg on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential conversations. The rival sides will be asked to agree on a new Presidential Council structure that unifies the country’s dueling administrations and schedule elections.
The Sarraj spokesman refused to comment on the report.
Presidential Council chief Khalid al-Mishri, meanwhile, said the GNA wants to end the current transitional period and hold a constitutional referendum and presidential and parliamentary elections.
In a surprise televised address, he said the Presidential Council and east-based parliament delegations that had met in Morocco last week did not discuss sovereign positions or the transfer of sovereign institutions outside of the capital, Tripoli. He also said the talks did not tackle a reshuffle of the GNA.
Everything that was reported about this was “pure speculation aimed at obstructing the dialogue,” he stated.
Separately, GNA Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha announced the formation of a committee that would be tasked with merging armed groups and fighters in his ministry.
He said the militias would be allocated colors: green, yellow and red. The green and yellow factions would be incorporated in the ministry, while the red ones will be dismantled by force.
