The Libyan General Khalifa Haftar will pay the official visit to France on the invitation from Emmanuel Macron. The idea to visit Paris was born during meeting in Benghazi, Yeni Sagfak reported.
French President sent an official invitation to the Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar to visit France. The presidential office has prepared the respective invitation letter on Wednesday.
In its turn, General Haftar’s press office said that the Libyan Commander met with Christophe Farno, director of the Middle East and North Africa Department at the French Foreign Ministry, in the eastern city of Benghazi.
As the diplomatic protocol allows, Mr Farno conveyed the invitation to Haftar during the meeting. He also conveyed an invitation from French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner to his counterpart in Libya’s GNA, Fathi Bashagha, to visit Paris.
Wednesday meeting was extremely fruitful for the top officials who gathered to discuss the latest developments. The Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio in Tripoli, Libya’s Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj called on the international fora to ensure that the decisions reached at last month’s conference in Berlin on Libya are adhered to.
Berlin conference couldn’t stop Haftar’s attacks
General Haftar agreed at the conference on Jan. 19 to designate individuals to a UN-proposed military commission with five members from each side to monitor implementation of a ceasefire.
Despite Berlin conference’s call for a permanent ceasefire in the war-torn country, Haftar’s forces have continued their attacks.
Since 2011, when late ruler Muammar Gaddafi was ousted from Libya, two seats of power have emerged in Libya: one in eastern Libya supported mainly by Egypt and the UAE, and the second in Tripoli, which enjoys UN and international recognition.
Libya’s legitimate government has been under attack by Haftar’s forces since last April, claiming the lives of more than 1,000 people.
