Brussels, March 23 (IANS) European Union’s (EU) foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said on Monday that all military activities have to stop if a solution to the Libyan crisis has to be reached.
“This not only concerns Libya’s future, it also concerns European security, the stability of the region of the Mediterranean and Africa, so it is an international challenge,” Mogherini said on the sidelines of a meeting of 34 Libyan mayors and local leaders, according to a Xinhua report.
She said: “The security concern of the people on the ground was obviously one of our first concerns.”
However, “solving the security problem in the cities is also a way of allowing the political process to go on to have a positive outcome,” the EU foreign affairs chief added.
“We are arriving from Morocco, and the political track there is progressing well. But this one here (in Libya) is especially important, this is one that can show the Libyan people there are benefits of peace even before there is a final agreement; this is a message we are trying to agree on here,” said Bernadino Leon, the UN’s special representative for Libya.
The UN-led political dialogue process consists of five tracks: political, municipal, security, political parties, and tribal.
Mogherini said that municipal leaders, being on the frontline in Libya, have a crucial role to play in seeking an end to the conflict, expressing hope that the meeting in Brussels would engender a strong support for the political dialogue process and encouragement for the political leadership in reaching an agreement.