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| FILE PHOTO: Khalifa Haftar, the military commander who dominates eastern Libya, REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/File Photo |
France said on Tuesday that the Libyan conflict could not be solved through unilateral decisions, but only under U.N.-backed dialogue after Libya’s eastern-based military leader Khalifa Haftar’s move to seize control of the country.
“The solution to the Libyan conflict can only go through dialogue between the parties under the aegis of the United Nations, not through unilateral decisions,” Foreign ministry deputy spokesman Olivier Gauvin said in a statement that made no direct reference to Haftar.
“There is no alternative to an inclusive political solution, as part of the conclusions of the Berlin conference,” Gauvin said, adding Paris was attached to Libya’s unity and stability.
Haftar said on Monday his Libyan National Army (LNA) was accepting a “popular mandate” to rule over the country, apparently brushing aside the civilian authorities which nominally govern eastern Libya.
