Delay In Appointment Of New UN Envoy For Libya Caused By Geopolitical 'Games' - Nebenzia

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th July, 2020) The fact that the position of the UN envoy to Libya is still vacant after Ghassan Salame's resignation hints on geopolitical "games" revolving around the appointment, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said on Thursday.

The UN Support Mission in Libya has been without a chief since French-Lebanese Salame resigned from his post, citing frustration with the settlement process. It is now headed by US diplomat Stephanie Williams in an acting capacity.

"Now, there are games around the post of the [UN] special representative [for Libya], around its separation from the [UN] mission. They [want] to create a separate post of a special representative, a special envoy of the secretary-general and a head of the mission.

But, there is no special added value in this, because there is nothing to do in Libya without a settlement. This is inextricably linked. What this will add to the settlement process is not clear not only to us but to many other members of the Security Council," Nebenzia said in an online interview.

The Russian envoy stressed that the main issue lied not even in how the mission's structure would look like, but in the personality of future envoy. Nebenzia said that this person should be accepted by both conflicting parties and have considerable political weight and authority.