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United Nations Special Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame arrives for the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Jan. 10, 2020. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)
The UN has confirmed the resignation of its top envoy for Libya,Ghassan Salame, who said on Twitter that "my health no longer allows this rate of stress."
UNITED NATIONS, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations on Monday confirmed the resignation of Ghassan Salame, the world body's top envoy for Libya.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has received a message from Salame expressing his intention to leave the post, said Stephane Dujarric, Guterres' spokesman.
The secretary-general will be discussing with Salame the way to ensure a smooth transition so as not to lose any momentum on the gains that have been made on Libya, Dujarric told a daily press briefing.
Salame's resignation came as a surprise, even to the UN secretary-general's press team.
The UN Headquarters in New York learned of Salame's resignation from a tweet of his earlier Monday morning. Dujarric spoke to Guterres, who subsequently received an email from Salame, explaining his decision to be relieved of his duty, according to the spokesman.
Dujarric did not say whether the email reached the secretary-general's mailbox before or after Salame's tweet. "But everything is settled down."
The secretary-general has told Salame how much he appreciated all the work Salame has done, at the helm of the UN mission, at a very difficult time. Guterres is very appreciative of the work that has been done, especially recently, in bringing the Libyan parties together. And the most important thing now is to work on the transition to make sure that no momentum is lost, said Dujarric.
Guterres has always had full confidence in Salame's work and the great efforts he has made to bring peace to Libya, he said.
In his tweet, Salame suggested health reasons for his resignation.
He said he had sought for two years to unite Libyans, prevent foreign intervention in the war and preserve the unity of the country, but "my health no longer allows this rate of stress."
Salame, who is Lebanese, was appointed by Guterres as his special representative and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya in June 2017. ■
