UN envoy discussed in Algeria Libyan elections by 2018 end

The Algerian Foreign Minister Abdelkader Messahel received on Saturday the Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Ghassan Salame, in the Algerian capital Algiers.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Messahel discussed with Salame accelerating the implementation of the UN action plan in Libya.

Salame visited Tunisia last week where he met with senior Libyan officials including the President of the Libyan Presidential Council, Fayez Al-Sarraj, as well as the Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy in Libya, Stephanie Williams, Libyan media reported.

Last week, the Algerian foreign minister also received the French president’s special envoy for Libya, Ambassador Frederic Desagneaux, local media reported.

France is reported to have resorted to Algeria to achieve a breakthrough in the Libyan crisis, but Algeria insists on committing to a political solution to the crisis, under the auspices of the UN.

Algeria and France do not see eye to eye regarding how to solve the crisis in Libya. While Paris insists on the need to accelerate holding the elections in Libya before the end of this year, Algeria stresses on the need to restore security stability to strengthen its border with the war-torn state.