UN says way forward in volatile Libya is National Conference

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. envoy for Libya says the crisis-wracked country is caught in a destructive cycle "fueled by personal ambition and the nation's stolen wealth" — and the way forward should begin with a National Conference in early 2019.

Ghassan Salame said Libya's House of Representatives has failed to produce legislation to amend the constitution and hold presidential and parliamentary elections, and the time has come for a wider group of Libyans to meet "to devise a clean path out of the present impasse, reinforced by a clear timetable."

Salame told the Security Council Thursday that he backs this more representative group of Libyans' plan to move forward with a National Conference in the first weeks of 2019.

"The subsequent electoral process should commence in the spring of 2019," Salame said.