The European Union should have a special envoy for Libya to bring the settlement process to a new level and to be able to speak in a single voice with all the diverse players involved in the issue, including Russia, Turkey and Egypt, Italian lawmaker Marco Minniti said in an interview with Sputnik
GENOA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th February, 2020) The European Union should have a special envoy for Libya to bring the settlement process to a new level and to be able to speak in a single voice with all the diverse players involved in the issue, including Russia, Turkey and Egypt, Italian lawmaker Marco Minniti said in an interview with Sputnik.
According to recent Italian media reports, Minniti, who is among the most prominent and experienced Italian politicians dealing with the Libyan matter, is being considered for this post.
"I think that the idea of having a special EU envoy on Libya, especially if this envoy would be an Italian, would be an important step. If the European Commission decides on a special envoy, it would take a qualitative leap forward because Europe would speak in a single voice, and this would be very important even for the other players for Russia, for Turkey, for Egypt, and for the Gulf countries," Minniti, who is a member of the Italian parliament from the Democratic Party and the former minister of the interior, said.
According to the lawmaker, the idea of appointing an EU envoy for Libya was proposed by European Commission Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans one month ago. Minniti noted the relevance of the idea as it would contribute to building "a relationship of trust with all players in the country who maybe do not talk to each other but who trust a third person."
When asked if he would like to take up the envoy position, Minniti said that he was speaking in general terms and noted that he had not been officially approached by anyone with such a proposal.
Libya has been suffering from a severe political crisis since 2011, when its then-leader, Muammar Gaddafi, was ousted and murdered. The ensuing crisis split the country into rival eastern and western administrations, with the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) headed by Fayez Sarraj currently controlling Tripoli, and the other authorities, supported by the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, holding the east of the oil-rich country. The division manifested itself also at the international level, with France, Greece, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates supporting the LNA, while Italy, Turkey and Qatar assist the UN-backed GNA.
