President Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi met earlier on Wednesday with the Libyan parliament's speaker Aguila Saleh and expressed Egypt's full support for Libya's sovereignty in order to protect the nation's cohesion, state news agency MENA reported citing a presidency statement. The presidency quoted El-Sisi as saying that Libya would be able to end the ongoing crisis through the support of national institutions and stressed that all Libyans have the right to self-determination. The Libyan speaker explained the most recent developments in the conflict and hailed the role Egypt has been playing to end the crisis, noting the recent Cairo conference. On 12 December, Libyan officials and representatives from the country's various political factions gathered in Cairo, issuing a declaration of principles the following day, along with five proposed amendments to the UN-brokered Skhirat agreement of 2015, which aims at resolving the Libya's civil conflict. On Tuesday, the chief of staff of Egypt's armed forces Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Hegazy also met to discuss the declaration of principles issued by the Libyan factions. In an official statement late on Tuesday, Egypt's foreign ministry said that Saleh would hold a session of the Libyan House of Representatives to discuss the concerns and differences on the agreement reached in the Cairo conference so that it could be finalised. Saleh also vowed to "promote and uphold national reconciliation efforts to reach national consensus without foreign intervention to ensure the preservation of Libya's legitimate institutions, and particularly (the House of Representatives and the national army)." Saleh expressed his support for the Egyptian mediation in the hope that a consensus could be built between Libyan factions to rebuild the structure of the state. The declaration asserted four main principles to be adhered to in Libya's transition: the preservation of a united Libya, support for state institutions, non-interference by foreign bodies, and the maintenance of a civil state. Hegazy met earlier on Monday with Libyan public figures, media personnel and rights groups who issued a statement of support for the declaration of principles. Last week, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry also met with his Libyan counterpart Mohamed Taha Siala to discuss the implementation of the UN-brokered Skhirat agreement. The Libyan foreign minister stressed that the 2015 agreement is the cornerstone of achieving stability in the country and restoring the country's institutions. The political conflict in Libya broke out following the ouster of Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, which left rival militias and factions battling for control. Libya currently has two parliaments and two rival governments, effectively dividing the country into east and west. The parliament and interim government in the eastern part of the country are refusing to endorse the UN-backed administration in Tripoli in the west, which is a prerequisite for the Tripoli camp to officially hold power.
