Tripoli (Reuters) – The UN Libya mission said on Thursday that Libyan factions did not reach a final agreement in the talks aimed at resolving the central bank crisis that has slashed oil output and exports.
The two-day consultations to solve the crisis hosted by UNSMIL were between delegates from the Benghazi-based House of Representatives, the High Council of State and the Presidential Council, which are both based in Tripoli.
However, the Mission statement did not mention the presence of the delegation of the Presidential Council on the second day of the talks.
The Presidential Council, based in Tripoli, had only rarely intervened directly in Libyan politics before its head Mohammed al-Menfi moved in August to replace veteran central bank Governor Sadiq al-Kabir, which led eastern factions to order a halt of oil flows across Libyan oilfields in protest.
Libya’s two legislative chambers agreed this month to jointly appoint a central bank governor, potentially defusing a battle for control of the country’s oil revenue.
The Mission welcomed on Thursday the progress made between the two legislative bodies “on the principles and timeline that should govern the interim period leading to the appointment of a new governor and board of directors for the Central Bank”.
Libyan oil exports fell around 81% last week, Kpler data showed on Wednesday, as the National Oil Corporation cancelled cargoes amid a crisis over control of Libya’s central bank and oil revenue.
(Reporting by Ahmed El Umami, Yomna Ehab and Ahmed Tolba; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
