President Macron hosted Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj

President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj on May 8.

The President reaffirmed France’s support for the government of national accord, with which it will continue its cooperation. He underscored all the efforts undertaken by France over the past two years to rally the Libyan actors around an inclusive political solution leading as swiftly as possible to the elections demanded by the Libyan people. He reiterated his desire to help build peace in Libya through a political process, under the auspices of the United Nations.

The two leaders agreed on the importance of expanding and deepening the dialogue between all components of the Libyan nation in the east, south and west, including civil society.

Noting that there is no military solution to the Libyan conflict, and to bring an end to the military offensive against Tripoli, the President urged an unconditional ceasefire. He emphasized the need to protect civilian populations. A proposal was made in this regard to delineate the lines of the ceasefire under international supervision, in order to define its specific framework.

He also proposed to work closely with the UN to develop, in the coming days, an assessment of the behavior of armed groups in Libya, including those who answer directly to the government of national accord. More generally, the need to combat any and all terrorist activity was reaffirmed.

France will remain fully mobilized to support the mediation effort of the UN secretary-general’s special representative in order to end hostilities, re-start the dialogue, and enable the Libyan people to live in peace and security.