On 12 October, Acting Head of UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Stephanie Williams met with Tunisian President Kaïs Saied to begin discussing details of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) scheduled to take place in Tunisia. The first face-to-face rounds of the LPDF are slated to occur in early November and will aim to reach consensus on a new government and the holding of national elections.
On 14 October, following a meeting with the Italian Foreign Minister Luigi di Maio, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said the two sides had ‘concluded that there was no alternative to overcoming the Libyan conflict other than by political and diplomatic means.’ In a joint press conference, Lavrov claimed that Italy, Russia, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Germany were all ‘trying to contribute’ to mediation efforts, and di Maio added that strengthening cooperation between Libya, Italy and Russia was very important and that there had already been some progress with the resumption of oil production in some parts of the country. Lavrov also called on the UN to expedite the appointment of a permanent Special Envoy to Libya, accusing the United States of stalling the appointment, and noted that preparations were underway for a new Libyan-Libyan dialogue.
On 15 October, the UN released a statement asserting that the House of Representatives (HoR) and High Council of State (HCS) had agreed at the end of the 11-13 October talks in Cairo on the need to conclude the transitional period and reach a permanent new political arrangement. The same day, October, Lavrov received Williams in Moscow, where the two discussed developments in Libya and agreed on the importance of further UN-led coordinated international efforts to promote intra-Libyan dialogues.
On 16 October, the Government of National Accord’s (GNA) Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying the Foreign Minister, Mohammed Siyala, had met with the Turkish Ambassador to Libya, Serhat Aksen, to discuss the return to work of Turkish companies in Libya. On 17 October, Turkish Trade Minister Rushar Pekcan announced that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Turkey and the GNA had entered into force on 24 September. The MoU would allow Turkish companies to complete their incomplete construction projects in Libya.
On 17 October, it was reported that Williams had been holding a series of meetings with mayors from municipalities across Libya to hear their recommendations regarding Libya’s political process. The mayors reportedly called for a focus on improving economic conditions and provision of public services at the municipal level, ahead of national elections.