The Libyan Chief of General Staff, Mohammed Al-Haddad, met Saturday in Sirte with the Chief of Staff of Khalifa Haftar's forces, who is acting now as a General Commander in place of Haftar, Abdelrazik Al-Nathori for the first time.

The meeting in Sirte was held in the presence of a number of military officers from both sides.

After the meeting, Al-Nathori said they had discussed unifying the Libyan military institution without foreign intervention, adding that the viewpoints of the two sides were close as they stem from their keenness on protecting the country, its constitution and military institution.

Al-Nathori said they are expecting the 5+5 Joint Military Commission to join the meetings of unifying the military institution, adding that there will be consecutive meetings without foreign intervention.

"The previous governments blocked our military institution budgets for 11 years, we won't allow politicians to dismantle the military institution." Al-Nathori further explained.