The constitution should be adopted as soon as possible in order for elections to be held peacefully and for Libya to attain stability, Libya's High Council Chairperson Khalid al-Mishri and Ankara’s Ambassador to Tripoli Kenan Yılmaz stated.
According to the written statement issued by the High Council of State Press Office, Mishri and Yılmaz met at the council building in the capital Tripoli.
During the meeting, the relations between the two countries as well as the postponed elections in Libya, which were slated for Dec. 24, and its legal infrastructure were discussed.
The committee responsible for preparing the draft of the new constitution in Libya in May demanded that the draft constitution be put to a referendum before the elections.
Mishri said in his statement in June that according to the draft constitution pending submission to a referendum, those with dual citizenship cannot be a candidate for the presidency. Gen. Khalifa Haftar, who also has United States citizenship, blocked the referendum process for this reason.
'U.N. supports unification of military forces in Libya'
The United Nations supports all efforts to unite the army forces in Libya, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' Special Adviser on Libya Stephanie Williams said in a tweet.
Williams also stated that she was pleased with the meeting held in Sirte on Dec. 11 by the Libyan Chief of General Staff Mohammed al-Haddad and Abd al-Razik al-Nazuri, who was the so-called chief of staff of the forces loyal to Haftar, as part of the attempts to unite the military institutions in the country.
According to local media, the meeting between Haddad and Nazuri focused on the consolidation of military institutions, as well as the expulsion of foreign mercenaries from the country and the economic downturn.
The second meeting in a month took place between the two wings of the army forces, which have a double-headed structure in Libya.
Controversial elections
Libya's presidential elections were scheduled to take place on Dec. 24 as part of a U.N. road map, but the country's election commission proposed a one-month delay, citing inadequacies in electoral legislation and appeals related to candidates' eligibility.
The poll was meant to take place just over a year after a landmark east-west cease-fire in a country that has been ravaged by a decade of conflict since the 2011 revolt that overthrew and killed dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
But the run-up to the country's first-ever presidential election has been overshadowed by angry disputes over its legality and the candidacies of several controversial figures, including Gadhafi's son, Seif al-Islam Gadhafi.
One point of contention was a presidential elections law controversially passed by Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh, which critics say bypassed due process and favored his ally putschist Haftar.
The law was strongly opposed by factions in western Libya, where Haftar had waged a yearlong battle to seize the capital Tripoli.