Italy and four other western powers are ready to support Libya's "stability, independence, territorial integrity, and national unity", it said in a joint statement with France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
"We reaffirm our readiness to work with Libya and all international partners to build a more peaceful, stable future for the country and its people and to support its stability, independence, territorial integrity, and national unity," said the statement issued on Friday.
The statement expressed "concern at recent reports of violence, threats of violence, intimidation, and kidnappings," in the war-wracked oil state.
"Any disagreement on the future of the political process must be resolved without resorting to violence," the statement underlined.
The statement said that individuals or countries that "obstruct or undermine Libya’s successful completion of its political transition" can be designated by the UN Security Council’s Libya Sanctions Committee under relevant UN resolutions. These include the unanimously adopted Resolution 2571 (2021) urging member states to comply fully with the February 2011 UN arms embargo, and not to intervene in the Libyan conflict.
"In reaffirming our full respect for Libyan sovereignty and for the UN-facilitated, Libyan-led and owned political process, we reiterate our support for UN mediation efforts through the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser and UNSMIL (the UN mission in Libya) to sustain the country’s peaceful transition, to facilitate dialogue among political, security, and economic actors, and to maintain their focus on holding credible, transparent, and inclusive presidential and parliamentary elections...to fulfil the democratic aspirations of the Libyan people," the statement continued.
"We encourage all Libyan stakeholders, including the House of Representatives and the High State Council (advisory body), to cooperate fully with these efforts and in the next steps of the transition, as proposed by the UN, in order to establish a consensual constitutional basis that would lead to presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as possible."
