By Fatih Erel
GENEVA
Two days of talks between rival Libyan factions have ended in a "positive atmosphere" on Wednesday in Geneva.
The representatives of the Tripoli General National Congress (GNC) sat down with the Tobruk-based and elected House of Representatives for the first time at the United Nations in Geneva with the aim of forming a unity government.
The talks presided over by the head of the UN Libya Mission, Bernardino Leon, "were held in a positive atmosphere, with the different parties emphasising the need to set aside partisan agendas and uphold Libya’s higher national interests,"a statement issued by the UN said on Wednesday.
"The parties expressed optimism that the dialogue process was approaching its final stages," UNSMIL said.
According to the UN Libya Mission, the parties underscored their determination to conclude the dialogue process with a target date to creating a unity government within the coming three weeks.
The next meeting is expected to be held next week either again in Geneva or in Morocco.
Libya has remained in turmoil since a bloody uprising ended the decades-long rule of strongman Muammar Gaddafi in late 2011.
Since then, the country's stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of government – one in the eastern city of Tobruk and the other in capital Tripoli – each of which boasts its own institutions and military capacities.
