Libya's Presidential Council, which acts as head of state, has ordered the Foreign Ministry to summon the head of the US diplomatic mission in the country. He must be handed an official protest over remarks by US President Donald Trump.
In a statement received by TASS, the council said it categorically rejects Trump's remarks on Libya and its people. The Libyan side defines them as an unacceptable violation of permissible limits and an encroachment on the dignity of the people.
“The dignity of Libya and its people is not subject to bargaining and does not tolerate encroachments“, the statement says.According to the document, the meeting with the American diplomat should serve both to officially express the protest and to request explanations for the statements. The Presidential Council indicates that it will continue to insist on a direct apology and clarification through diplomatic channels in order to restore the respect that should be the basis of relations between the two countries.
What Trump said
The occasion is Donald Trump's speech at an election rally in the state of Georgia on October 24. He criticized Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff for his position on immigration and said that Democrats want to allow into the United States "armies of migrants" from countries "infested with terrorists."
In this group, the US president named Libya, Yemen, Haiti and Somalia. The statement also provoked a reaction from other Libyan officials. The Associated Press reported that the Prime Minister of the western-based government, Abdelhamid Dbeiba, rejected "any insult" to Libya and its people, recalling the sacrifices made in the fight against terrorism.
Libya remains divided between rival administrations, with the western part under the control of the government in Tripoli and the eastern part affiliated with another political and military structure. At this stage, it has not been announced when the American diplomatic representative will be summoned and whether Washington will respond to the protest or the request for an apology.
Sources: tass.com, apnews.com