Khalifa Haftar can still be part of future Libya government, says Hunt (UK)

[TomSea]

Khalifa Haftar can still be part of future Libya government, says Hunt
Patrick Wintour

The UK is not ruling out the warlord Khalifa Haftar from a role in a future Libyan government despite his attack on the capital, the British foreign secretary has said as he reiterated calls for a ceasefire.

Jeremy Hunt told the Guardian: “We do not agree with what Haftar is doing. We do not think it is possible for Haftar to achieve a military victory, and as a government he will not be seen as legitimate by whole swathes of the country. So we want a political process.”

Asked if Haftar’s offensive in Tripoli had forfeited him the right to be a major figure in the future of Libya, Hunt said: “We have to be careful about making those kinds of judgments. We have not covered ourselves in glory with our policy on Libya. Let us face it, if we knew in 2011 we would be in the situation we are now we would be asking ourselves some searching questions, so we had better be careful about ruling people out and ruling people in. The right way forward is a a ceasefire, political talks and a political settlement”.

Read more at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/07/khalifa-haftar-can-still-be-part-future-libya-government-jeremy-hunt