Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh on Thursday reiterated his demand that foreign fighters withdraw from his country while meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Brussels.
The withdrawal is urgently needed “to ensure national sovereignty throughout Libya,” he wrote on Twitter.
Blinken also took to the social network to say the meeting with Dbeibeh was “productive.”
Russia, Turkey, Egypt and other states had pledged to withdraw foreign fighters completely and “without further delay” at a one-day Libya conference in Berlin on Wednesday, attended by Blinken.
However, those same actors had already agreed to end military support for the conflicting parties at the first Berlin Libya conference a year and a half ago; nevertheless, according to recent UN estimates, there are still 20,000 foreign forces in Libya.
Under U.S. President Joe Biden, Washington seems to want to get more involved in Libya again.
The Biden administration wants to strengthen the work of the United Nations in the country and help Libya hold nationwide elections that are currently set for December.
Above all, the U.S. wants to prevent extremists from spreading in Libya again, which could also threaten security in North Africa and Europe. (dpa/NAN)