(Bloomberg) -- United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar and his competitors in the Tripoli government are closer to finding a power-sharing agreement that would break the political deadlock in the divided North African country.
Haftar and the UN-backed prime minister Fayez al-Sarraj have been negotiating a united caretaker government ahead of possible elections. But the talks have floundered over how much say Haftar, who leads the self-styled Libyan National Army, would have in politics.
“What is new is that we see signs that an understanding is possible exactly to overcome the contradiction you raised,” Guterres said in response to a reporter's question on the dispute over civilian oversight of the military. Guterres, speaking in Tunis on Saturday ahead of Sunday's Arab League Summit of regional officials, did not elaborate.
Haftar's forces swept through the south in an operation beginning in January, leaving them in control of much of the country and ts oil fields. The offensive spurred international pressure on him and Sarraj to reach an agreement.
OPEC member Libya has been in disarray since Muammar Qaddafi, its head of state, was removed from office and killed in 2011.
To contact the reporter on this story: Samer Khalil Al-Atrush in Cairo at skhalilalatr@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny, Ian Fisher
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