Libya presidential council denies asking Haftar to nominate a PM

Khalifa Haftar

23 Dec 2020; MEMO: The Presidential Council of Libya yesterday denied media reports claiming its head and Prime Minister of the Government of National Accord (GNA), Fayez Al-Sarraj, had sent a letter to renegade General Khalifa Haftar asking him to nominate a prime minister, Anadolu news agency reported.

"We categorically deny media reports claiming the President of the Presidency Council had conveyed a letter through the Italian foreign minister to Khalifa Haftar asking him to nominate a prime minister," a spokesman for the Presidency Council of Libya, Ghaleb Alzgalay, posted on Twitter.

The official went on to call on media outlets to be more accurate when reporting.

Earlier, Italy's La Repubblica newspaper claimed that Al-Sarraj had offered Haftar, through a letter conveyed by Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, the chance to nominate the prime minister.

Last Thursday, the United Nations mission in Libya announced the formation of a legal committee of members of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, in preparation for the elections scheduled for December 2021.

The  Libyan Political Dialogue Forum has been holding regular meetings for over a month with the aim of reaching a settlement that ends the continuing political and institutional divisions in the country.