Egypt welcomes initial deal by Libyan political powers

Egypt welcomed on Sunday the initial agreement signed by representatives of the Libyan political powers in Morocco under the sponsorship of the UN.

The Foreign Ministry, in a statement, lauded the positive stance and the sense of responsibility of the participants of the dialogue.

It also paid tribute to efforts of UN envoy to Libya Bernardino Leon that helped reach this positive result.

The Tobruk-based parliament and government as well as representatives from municipalities in Tripoli and the western city of Misrata signed on Saturday an initial power-sharing agreement under the sponsorship of the UN but without the attendance of the Tripoli-based General National Congress (GNC) that asked more amendments to the UN-brokered deal.

The Egyptian statement underlined the importance of putting into effect the deal and forming a national unity government so that the Libyans could start reviving their economy and rebuilding their country.

The support which Egypt offered to the Libyan brothers over the past period will continue to help materialize the Libyan people's aspirations of a modern, stable and democratic country capable of protecting itself from terrorism and extremism that are threatening the entire region.

Egypt urged the Libyan factions to discard violence and work hard to render the deal a success. It also called on the international community to shoulder its responsibility for Libya and back the would be national unity government.

The statement expressed appreciation for Morocco that hosted the Libyan dialogue sessions. It also praised the role by Libya's neighbors in providing the circumstances that led to signing the deal.

Libya has been split for nearly a year between an elected parliament in the country's far east, Tobruk, and an Islamist-led government backed by militias that seized the capital.