Macron’s ‘Photo Op’ Unlikely to Cement Elusive Libya Peace
- Al-Serraj, Hafter reach deal for first time on common text
- Accord struck without consulting key Libyan political players
Emmanuel Macron looks on as Fayez al-Sarraj shakes hands with General Khalifa Haftar after talks aimed at easing tensions in Libya, in La Celle-Saint-Cloud, near Paris, on July 25, 2017.
Photographer: Jacques Demarthon/AFP/Getty ImagesA French-led effort to reunify fractured Libya failed to consult powerful local forces and risks achieving little beyond boosting the legitimacy of a renegade general who has recently racked up significant battlefield gains.
On paper, the step taken by Libya’s rival leaders on Tuesday -- guided by French President Emmanuel Macron and a United Nations envoy -- was their boldest yet toward resolving Libya’s six-year crisis. After talks at a country mansion outside Paris, UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj and eastern military strongman Khalifa Haftar agreed to -- but didn’t sign -- a text calling for a ceasefire, combining the North African crude producer’s divided state oil company and holding elections “as soon as possible.”