Thank you very much. It is really a pleasure to be here today and to have my first meeting with you… I would like first to express my most profound condolences after what happened in the fight between Misrata and Daesh. Many people killed, many mothers have lost their sons, this demonstrates how urgent the situation here in Libya to come to an agreement on how to implement the Libyan Political Agreement and to go the way of peace and prosperity in this country.

I think it is very important that one fully implement the LPA - I came from Vienna right now where this was the absolute consensus of everybody sitting around the table. The Libyan political agreement needs three strong institutions, the Presidency Council, the House of Representatives and the State Council. We had very good, very extensive, and very frank discussions on these questions. It is important that these institutions go ahead to serve the people, to provide them food, to provide them electricity and to pass the necessary laws for it because also Ramdan is right in front of the table and there are many economic problems here in the country. That is why also the State Council fulfils an important role.

We also discussed how to enter into a real structure with the House of Representatives (HoR), because HoR and SC are like twins. The State Council convened now and this was the guideline of the Libyan Political Dialogue on the 10th of March, that the State Council should be formed.

The State Council can fully function only if the constitutional amendment is passed in its entirety. In addition, the House of Representatives has to pass the Constitutional Amendment in order to give full strength to the SC here in Tripoli. Of course, there are different perceptions now in the country about the State Council and as United Nations and as a member of the international community I would like to assist both State Council and the House of Representatives and others in order to bring the different views together.

I think it is very important that the politics determine the guideline and not the military developments on the ground. That’s why it is very important that the politicians sit together, members of the State Council and members of the HoR; the presidents of both, SC and HoR, together with the Prime Minister to tackle the very urgent problems in the country.

The major challenge is the military situation now and this has to be tackled, but it only can be tackled by united Libyans. I think the enemy Number One of Libya is the national division and the fragmentation. We want to be helpful to bring the country together and to bridge the gaps of different opinions. That’s why it was very important for me today to be with you and to listen to your views, and I was assured that there is no reluctance from your side to sit together with everybody who still have concerns about the State Council.
The Political developments must be much faster and the political dialogue among all political stakeholders is a must. I also requested from the members of the State Council to give me ideas what they expect from the international community. We are here to support you, not to replace your decisions. This is Libya. These are your institutions, and this is your agreement, and these must be your decisions and we are here to help you and to support you.

Q: (inaudible)
A: The question of sanctions is not the topic of the United Nations. Sanctions were imposed by individual member states or organizations like the European Union or the United States on individual members who obstruct the process. We continue to stretch out our hands to those who obstruct. I am a believer in dialogue; there is no solution than to sit together at the end of the day. Sometimes it is done after much bloodletting. Our task is to stop the bloodletting and to sit together. It is very clear that the weapons embargo is on all over the country, everybody must respect this weapons embargo. Now you have the Presidency Council and a very clear guideline that the Government of National Accord will be in place and that the Presidency Council is the Supreme Commander of the Libyan Army. Regular forces under the leadership of the Presidency Council can be exempted from the weapons embargo of the United Nations. This process has to be expedited. The PC issued already some decisions concerning the operation centre, but also concerning the structure of the future Libyan Army, and all stakeholders must be reflected in this joint Libyan army. And I say it very clearly, maybe here in Tripoli you do not like to hear it, this concerns also the forces of the East. East, West and South must be in this united Libyan Army, and for regular units, the weapons embargo can be lifted and this is the contribution the international community and I pray to God that this happens quickly because we see the military escalation in the country.