The General National Congress has indicated that it is necessary that the UNSMIL adopt its amendments to the draft in order to pursue its participation in the dialogue.

Saleh Al-Makhzoum, the Second Vice Speaker of the GNC said in a Tripoli press conference Saturday that the GNC told the UNSMIL that it will go on participating in the dialogue rounds as per the principles set before. He added that the UNSMIL is going to contact the GNC later this week to present a review for the agreement close to the GNC standpoints, which all aim at balancing the political division among all parties.

Al-Makhzoum said the draft that was unilaterally signed by one party last month will not be successful for neither the signing parties nor the UNSMIL, pointing that any future signing of agreements must be adopted by Tobruk parliament and the  GNC. Yet, he referred to the comments of the Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni, who said that the dialogue will not succeed without the presence of the GNC, according to Al-Makhzoum. 

In addition, the GNC member, Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Swaihli stated that the meeting with UNSMIL’s Head Bernardino Leon in Algeria’s capital, Algiers discussed dialogue new visions and the requirements for the GNC to go back and sit on the dialogue table, adding that he outlined to the UNSMIL the fixed unnegotiable principles of the GNC regarding any future agreements.

Similarly, the GNC member, Mohammed Al-Amary, disclosed that the UNSMIL was wrong when it rushed into initializing the draft last month, stressing that the door is still open to add the necessary amendments to it. He falsified the other party’s claims that the draft is final, pointing out that Leon himself promised to make way for the needed modifications on the draft once again.

“The UNSMIL asked us to participate again in the dialogue by discussing the annexes, but we did not agree and asked for reconsideration of the draft before we discuss the annexes.” Al-Amary said, adding that a new vision has been set with the UNSMIL for the upcoming dialogue rounds, which clarified the GNC’s rejection of the unilateral initialization of draft.