Tripoli official says Libya closer to holding presidential election - Russia's RIA

Mohammed Takala, head of Libya's Tripoli-based High State Council, has said the country is getting closer to holding presidential elections, according to the Russian state news agency RIA.

Efforts to bring together Libya's rival factions to hold an election have been the main focus of diplomacy for years, but there has been little progress towards a vote since a 2020 ceasefire that paused most major warfare.

The HSC has a say in major political matters under the terms of a 2015 political agreement and has been negotiating with Libya's main parliament, the internationally recognised House of Representatives, which is based in the east.

(Writing by Felix Light; Editing by Kevin Liffey)