Tunisia calls for solving Libyan crisis via dialogue

TUNIS, Tunisia

Tunisian Foreign Minister Othman Jerandi on Saturday reiterated his country's support for a solution based on dialogue and consensus to the crisis in Libya.

Jerandi met on Saturday with the head of Libya’s Presidency Council, Mohamed al-Menfi, in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, on the sidelines of an extraordinary summit of the African Union.

Tunisia is ready “to stand with Libya and support it in all international events and forums so that it regains its position as an effective country that plays its full role with the rest of the countries in the region," the top diplomat said.

Al-Menfi, for his part, expressed his gratitude for the Tunisian position in support of the Libyan consensus, expressing hope that neighboring countries and the international community will continue to support Libya in every way that will facilitate an intra-Libyan solution.

For more than two months, there have been two governments in Libya: the national unity government led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh and another one that was granted confidence in early March by the Tobruk-based House of Representatives. The latter is led by parliament-appointed Prime Minister Fathi Bashaga.

Dbeibeh has previously said he would only cede authority to a government that comes through an “elected parliament,” raising fears that the oil-rich country could slip back into a civil war.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar