The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously on Friday to extend the U.N. political mission in Libya for three months after Russia objected to a one-year extension supported by other members. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Moscow wanted only a three-month extension to pressure U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres to quickly appoint a new special representative to head the U.N. Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). The former U.N. special envoy, Jan Kubis, resigned on November 23 after 10 months in the job. Nebenzia said in the absence of a new envoy, the U.N. mission “has been unable to provide substantial support for the political process in Libya for more than six months”. He blamed some unidentified members of the Security Council who he claimed were “not ready to accept a scenario where UNSMIL is guided by an African representative”.

Source: Libya Today April 30, 2022 14:36 UTC