On 16 June, the UN Secretary General nominated Lebanese professor and politician Ghassan Salame as UN Special Envoy for Libya, in replacement of outgoing envoy Martin Kobler. The UN Security Council approved the appointment on 20 June, and Salame has reportedly accepted the role. The US vetoed the appointment of former Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad to this position in February. Salame is seen as historically close to France, and the French have increased their diplomatic activity with various actors in western Libya, especially Zintan, Misrata and Tripoli, over the past few days. This indicates a possible strengthening of the French role in fostering reconciliation, augmented by France’s supportive position for Khalifa Haftar and the Libyan National Army (LNA).Click here to read more on this topic.
Ghassan Salame Appointed as UN Envoy to Libya