UN: France to chair mini-summit on Libyan crisis

France is set to chair a mini-summit Thursday in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to discuss a political solution to the Libyan crisis, which worsened following a surprise push by east-based rebel commander Khalifa Haftar to seize capital Tripoli from the UN-backed Government of National Accord.

France’s top diplomat Jean-Yves Le Drian has indicated that the summit will gather permanent member states of the UN Security Council, plus the UAE, Egypt, Turkey and Italy, Libya Express reports.

The meeting according to Le Drian will discuss a political process to the crisis that erupted following the ouster of the former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Libya has descended into chaos entertained now by the GNA on one side and Egypt, UAE and somewhere France-backed administration in the East supported by renegade Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar.

Haftar in early April launched a military offensive to seize the Libyan capital but the push has met tough resistance from the GNA forces backed by Turkey.

The Thursday conference is a build-up to a major conference in November in Berlin aiming at stabilizing the oil-rich African country.