The United States, Britain, France, Germany and Italy threatened sanctions against individuals or groups that seek to undermine peace and political transition in Libya as the general elections in the country looms.
The United States Embassy in Libya has released a recorded video message of the American Special Envoy and Ambassador to Libya, Richard Norland, to mark one year since the Libyan ceasefire agreement was signed.
The Libya Stabilization Act, which the U.S. House of Representatives passed in early September, would be used as “a tool to exclude Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar from the political scene and punish him”, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood said on Saturday.
The United States Special Envoy and Ambassador to Libya, Richard Norland, met on Friday with Chairman of the High National Election Commission (HNEC) Imad al-Sayeh to discuss American support for the upcoming general elections on December 24.
The goal of the United States is for Libya to achieve a stable sovereignty free from foreign interference, said Ned Price, the U.S. State Department spokesman, a press conference in Washington yesterday.
Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio told his U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken in Paris today that there is a risk of renewed violence and instability if Libyan elections on December 24 were to be cancelled.
The United States has welcomed the ‘Libya Stability’ initiative, which was earlier this year by Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush, and its accompanying conference on October 21.
“No individual or institution should have veto power over critical electoral legislation,” stated the U.S. Special Envoy to Libya Richard Norland today. “Libya’s institutions and their leaders must trust the voters to decide who should lead the country,” he added.
US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser met Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Wednesday for talks aimed at ensuring Libya’s December elections go ahead as planned, Sisi’s office said.