France: UN will approve Senegal’s Bathily as Libya UN envoy

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has nominated Abdoulaye Bathily to be the new U.N. envoy to Libya. France’s U.N. ambassador said Thursday he thinks the Security Council will approve the former Senegalese minister and U.N. diplomat, which would end a contentious nine-month search. The last U.N. special representative, Jan Kubis, resigned last Nov. 23 after 10 months. France’s ambassador said at a news conference that he doesn’t think opposition to Bathily from Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who led Libya’s transitional government, will be a problem in trying to end Libya’s political crisis.