26 February – 3 March: Pro-LNA government signs cooperation agreements with Syria

Mar 4, 2020 | International actors

On 1 March, a delegation from the pro-Libyan National Army (LNA) eastern-based parallel government led by Abdullah al-Thinni travelled to Syria where they met with Syrian Foreign Minister, Walid al-Muallem, and signed multiple agreements of cooperation. This included the exchange of information on data relating to terrorism, such as the identities of suspected terrorists allegedly among Turkish forces deployed to Tripoli, and Libyans who travelled to Syria to assist ISIS and the Nusra Front. They also agreed to open a Libyan embassy in Damascus to ‘counter Turkish aggression’.

On 2 March, the Libyan delegation met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and discussed both countries’ fight against terrorism as well as external interference. They also discussed activating bilateral cooperation in all fields, constituting a diplomatic re-representation between the two countries.

On 2 March, the UN Special Envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, publicly resigned from his position after two and a half years in the role. He said he had sought to reunite Libyans, curb outside intervention and preserve the unity of the country. He stressed that as of now, the Berlin Summit had been held, Resolution 2510 issued by the UN Security Council, and the three dialogue tracks have been launched, despite the reluctance of some. He acknowledged that his health no longer allows for this pace of stress and asked the UN Secretary-General to relieve him of his mission.