TRIPOLI, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Libyan Foreign Minister Najla al-Mangoush on Wednesday expressed the Libyan government's willingness to cooperate with the United Nations (UN) on the Libyan political process that leads to national elections in the country.
Al-Mangoush made her remarks during a meeting with Abdoulaye Bathily, special representative of the UN secretary-general for Libya and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), in the capital Tripoli, the Libyan Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"Ms. Najla Al-Manqoush expressed the willingness of the Government of National Unity and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to cooperate with the UN for a successful political process in Libya, and the actual start to pave the way for political stability that leads to holding parliamentary and presidential elections as soon as possible according to a correct constitutional basis," the statement said.
The two officials stressed the need to put an end to the foreign interference in Libya "which has clearly become an obstacle against efforts of peace and stability," the statement added.
For his part, Bathily stressed the importance of establishing a harmonious path for peace and stability under Libyan leadership, and that the solution to the Libyan crisis must come from the Libyans themselves.
Libya failed to hold general elections in December 2021 as previously scheduled due to disagreements over election laws among the Libyan parties.
The North African country is currently divided between a government that was appointed by the House of Representatives (parliament) in March, and the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity that refuses to hand over office except to an elected government. ■