In an interview on 29 June with French newspaper La Matinale du Monde, French Defence Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, called Libya a ‘totally failed state’ and warned that although ISIS’ influence in Libya had been reduced, particularly around Sirte, Derna and Benghazi, the jihadists have split up and the threat remains. He said that while the framework of the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) signed on 17 December, 2015 needed to remain in place, the agreement’s architecture needs to be adjusted with the supervision of the UN. He added that Khalifa Haftar had to be part of the solution and that Libya was a priority for France.
On 30 June, the UN Security Council (UNSC) extended sanctions banning illicit crude oil exports from Libya and expanded measures to cover the illicit export of refined petroleum products from Libya, including by parallel institutions which are not acting under the authority of the Government of National Accord (GNA). The resolution also urged Member States to assist the GNA, upon its request, by providing it with the necessary security and capacity-building assistance, in response to threats to Libyan security and in defeating ISIS, Ansar aI-Sharia, and other groups associated with aI-Qaida operating in Libya.
On 1 July, UNSMIL published a farewell message from outgoing UN Special Envoy to Libya Martin Kobler. In his message Kobler said that Libyans could scrap the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA), renegotiate it, or build on it and reshape it to address the concerns of everyone. He stressed that the LPA is only meant to guide a transitional period and it is not intended to replace a constitution. Kobler is to be replaced by Lebanese academic Ghassan Salame.