TRIPOLI, Libya/ISTANBUL

Libya’s Presidency Council chief Mohamed al-Menfi met Tuesday in Tripoli with US chargé d’affaires Jeremy Berndt to discuss ways to accelerate the country’s political process and prepare the ground for national elections.

A statement by the council said the two underlined the urgency of reviving the transition, stressing that only a comprehensive settlement can open the door to credible elections that would reunify institutions and end years of political fragmentation.

Their talks also touched on political, economic and security developments, along with prospects for stronger cooperation between Washington and Tripoli.

The meeting came shortly after UN envoy Hanna Tetteh presented a new roadmap to the Security Council calling for presidential and parliamentary elections within 18 months.

The UN has been working for years to steer Libya toward elections amid rivalry between two administrations, one based in Tripoli in the west and another in Benghazi in the east.

Many Libyans see the long-delayed vote as the only way to end more than a decade of conflict and interim arrangements since the 2011 fall of Muammar Gaddafi.

On the economic front, al-Menfi and Berndt discussed support for the Higher Financial Committee, which is tasked with monitoring the expenditures of the National Oil Corporation and the state electricity company. The council said the aim is to strengthen transparency, accountability and good governance in sovereign institutions.

The body was set up last July amid growing disputes over the fair distribution of oil revenues, the main source of Libya’s wealth.