TRIPOLI, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Head of the Libyan Higher Council of State Khaled al-Meshri said on Saturday that General Khalifa Haftar, commander of the eastern-based army, should not be included in a meeting in Paris on Libya as he is "not a party of the political agreement."
Al-Meshri made his remarks during a meeting with Dutch Ambassador to Libya Eric Strating in the Libyan capital Tripoli.
"I received an invitation from the French president to attend a meeting on Libya in Paris," said Al-Meshri.
"I informed the French side of the position on this matter that the elections would be successful in the event of a referendum on the constitution, because elections without a constitution means entering into a fourth transitional phase," he added.
Last week, the French Foreign Ministry extended an initiative to the parties of the UN-sponsored political agreement to hold a meeting in Paris to discuss a French plan to end the Libyan political crisis.
"The meeting of Paris should be between the parties in the Libyan political agreement. Hafter is not a party of the political agreement and does not recognize it," said Al-Meshri.
"The dialogue is supposed to be confined to three parties: the Higher Council of State, the House of Representatives, and the Presidential Council," he added.
General Khalifa Haftar on several occasions rejected the political agreement, stressing the need for the Libyan people to support the army in its fight against terrorism.
Despite signing the political agreement by the Libyan rivals in December 2015 and appointment of the UN-backed unity government, Libya remains politically divided between authorities in the east and the west.
UN Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame last year proposed an action plan for Libya that includes amendment of the political agreement and holding presidential and parliamentary elections before the end of 2018.
In a recent briefing to the UN Security Council, Salame urged relevant parties to focus on holding the upcoming elections.
