Libya Unity Bid Gains Steam as Rivals Gear Up for New Talks

(Bloomberg) -- The troubled push to reunify Libya entered a new stage Monday as the OPEC nation’s warring sides launched talks on charting a road map to elections and a unity government.

The discussions in Tunisia were launched after military leaders from the internationally recognized Tripoli-based government and their eastern rivals agreed to a permanent cease fire and to work toward the withdrawal of foreign fighters. A blueprint that’s being put on the table would establish a presidential council consisting of a leader and two deputies, representing the country’s three geographical regions.

There would also be a separate head of government, according to a draft of the document obtained by Bloomberg.

The talks are part of a broader effort being spearheaded by the United Nations in a bid to end a nearly a decade of war that has ravaged the North African oil exporter. A relative period of calm has allowed the state-run National Oil Corp. to lift force majeure and restart crude production nationwide. Output has now topped 1 million barrels per day.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a recorded message, encouraged the gathering to end the “tragic conflict” and “shape the future of your country.” Tunisian President Kais Saied, who is hosting the meeting, accused foreign forces of undermining peace efforts and warned that the fracturing of Libya would be a prelude to the division of neighboring countries.

The Tripoli government, headed by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, has received backing from Turkey, while eastern-based military leader Khalifa Haftar has been supported by the United Arab Emirates and Egypt as well as Russian mercenaries.

Earlier peace efforts have crumbled amid mutual recriminations. The Tunisia gathering comes days after military talks in the Libyan city of Ghadames ended with a call to the UN to adopt a binding resolution to implement the cease-fire reached in October.

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