Libya's unity gov't urged to hold vote of confidence

By Hasan Tosun

VIENNA

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said it is important for Libya's national unity government to gain a vote of confidence, Turkish diplomatic sources told Anadolu Agency Monday.

Cavusoglu made the remarks during a meeting on Libya under the joint chairmanship of the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni in the Austrian capital Vienna.

According to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, Cavusoglu in the meeting emphasized not only the need for the Libyan national unity government to hold a vote of confidence, but also said it was important to convince all sides in Libya.

The minister added Turkey was ready to give any kind of contribution to Libya.

Libya has been locked in a state of turmoil since 2011, when a bloody uprising ended with the ouster and death of longtime strongman, Muammar Gaddafi.

Since then, the country’s stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of government, one in Tobruk and another in Tripoli, each of which boasts its own military capacity and legislative assembly.

Late last year, Libya’s rival governments signed an UN-backed agreement to establish a unity government in an effort to resolve the country’s six-year political standoff.

In March, members of the unity government, led by prime minister-designate Faiz al-Sarraj, arrived in Tripoli from Tunisia with a view to assuming authority from the two rival governments.

The Tobruk-based government, however, has refused to hand over power to the new unity government until the latter is given a vote of confidence by the Tobruk-based parliament.

*Anadolu Agency Correspondent Diyar Guldogan contributed to this story.