France will next week reopen its embassy in the Libyan capital Tripoli, President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday, in a sign of a gradual return of stability to the country after years of conflict.
Macron stated this while receiving Mohammad Younes Menfi and Musa al-Koni, the new President and Vice-President of Libya’s Presidential Council at the Elysée Palace.
“As of Monday, our embassy in Tripoli will reopen, and our ambassador, who has never ceased to work to make it happen will tread your soil to put in place everything we talked about with you”, the French President said.
He added that the utmost on its agenda now is to see a transition towards the December elections.
He also added that France and its allies would ensure that all foreign fighters, especially those from Russia and Turkey, exit Libya “as soon as possible.”
The three-member presidential council and a Cabinet, took power amid global pressure to implement a UN-backed political programme.
The UN-sponsored Libyan political forum last year set December, 24 for general elections in the oil-rich North African nation.
Libya was plunged into chaos on the heels of the 2011 uprising which ousted strongman Muammar Gadhafi. Gadhafi was later murdered, with support from a Western military operation initially led by France.
There are about 20,000 foreign fighters in Libya, including Syrians, Turkish, Sudanese and Russians brought to the country by the rival sides. Earlier this month, the UN Security Council called on countries with troops and private armies in Libya to withdraw them immediately.