AIRLINK 194.83 Decreased By ▼ -3.14 (-1.59%)
BOP 9.81 Decreased By ▼ -0.23 (-2.29%)
CNERGY 7.36 Increased By ▲ 0.07 (0.96%)
FCCL 38.58 Increased By ▲ 2.58 (7.17%)
FFL 16.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.46 (-2.72%)
FLYNG 27.54 Increased By ▲ 2.50 (9.98%)
HUBC 131.75 Decreased By ▼ -2.28 (-1.7%)
HUMNL 13.86 Decreased By ▼ -0.28 (-1.98%)
KEL 4.66 Decreased By ▼ -0.12 (-2.51%)
KOSM 6.66 Decreased By ▼ -0.28 (-4.03%)
MLCF 45.39 Increased By ▲ 0.41 (0.91%)
OGDC 213.99 Decreased By ▼ -4.24 (-1.94%)
PACE 6.86 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-1.15%)
PAEL 40.06 Decreased By ▼ -1.36 (-3.28%)
PIAHCLA 16.79 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-0.42%)
PIBTL 8.32 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-1.65%)
POWER 9.43 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.43%)
PPL 182.19 Decreased By ▼ -3.74 (-2.01%)
PRL 41.83 Increased By ▲ 0.56 (1.36%)
PTC 24.56 Decreased By ▼ -0.21 (-0.85%)
SEARL 102.53 Decreased By ▼ -2.12 (-2.03%)
SILK 1.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.99%)
SSGC 39.44 Decreased By ▼ -1.47 (-3.59%)
SYM 17.33 Decreased By ▼ -0.72 (-3.99%)
TELE 8.76 Decreased By ▼ -0.15 (-1.68%)
TPLP 12.75 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-0.7%)
TRG 65.40 Decreased By ▼ -1.20 (-1.8%)
WAVESAPP 11.11 Decreased By ▼ -0.19 (-1.68%)
WTL 1.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-4.49%)
YOUW 3.94 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-1.5%)
BR100 11,974 Decreased By -135.4 (-1.12%)
BR30 36,147 Decreased By -451.4 (-1.23%)
KSE100 113,443 Decreased By -1598.8 (-1.39%)
KSE30 35,635 Decreased By -564.3 (-1.56%)

EU foreign ministers on Saturday upped pressure on Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar to halt his offensive on Tripoli, urging the strongman to commit to a political solution. Khalifa's dramatic bid to take Tripoli came as a meeting of Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers was being held in northern France with the club issuing a statement on Friday urging an immediate halt to "all military activity and movements toward Tripoli".
Several European ministers on Saturday warned Haftar not to countenance any further military action, saying that this could destroy a UN-backed peace process.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian described the Tripoli operations as "untimely initiatives" that could further destabilise Libya.
"There is a fundamental principle in Libya. There will be no military victory. The solution can only be a political solution," he added.
He said that France and Italy, the two European powers with the most influence in north Africa, were "on the same wavelength".
"It is important that all of the international community takes the same line," Le Drian added.
Experts say Haftar had had backing from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as well as France, which is seen as his closest ally in Europe.
Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi said that the G7 statement, which was also echoed by the UN Security Council, showed that the international community was not prepared to tolerate military action.
"We think the military initiatives are not the best ones to grant peaceful developments in Libya and a constructive path forward for stabilising the country," he said.
Asked if sanctions could be imposed against Haftar were he to fail to comply with the demands of the international community, he replied: "We have stated quite clearly what our position is and we very much hope that he (Haftar) will take it into consideration. If this will not happen, then we can see what can next be done."
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said there should be pressure on all the actors in Libya "especially general Haftar". He said it was important to "make sure that there is no further military escalation".

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019

Comments

Comments are closed.