US hopeful but 'realistic' on departure of foreign forces from Libya
Joey Hood, the acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, also said the United States expects the elections scheduled for December to take place.
After a conference on Libya’s political future ended without a concrete plan for the withdrawal of foreign forces, a top US diplomat expressed optimism but said Washington is "realistic" about what can be achieved ahead of elections later this year.
“We’ve seen remarkable progress among political actors,” Joey Hood, the acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, told reporters on a call Thursday.
“We’re realistic,” Hood added. “We can’t wave a magic wand and make this happen, but working together with the Libyan people, I think there’s a strong chance that we can set the conditions to provide the incentives and other parameters for these forces to leave.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken joined Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah for talks in Berlin this week hosted by Germany and the United Nations.
