The search for a political solution to the fighting in Libya is "regrettably still distant," the UN special envoy to Libya said Monday, as the crisis entered its fifth month, DPA reported.
Abdul Ilah Khatib, who visited Tripoli over the weekend, told the UN Security Council in New York that he was trying to convince Libyan officials to accept direct talks with the rebels and a ceasefire.
"Enough Libyans have lost their lives, it is clear that any end to the conflict requires a political solution, and that solution must meet the Libyans' legitimate aspirations for a democratic future," Khatib said.
But though all parties in the conflict recognize the UN role in the search for an end to the fighting, "a political solution is regrettably still distant and it requires greater vision and political will to move in that direction," Khatib said.
Khatib is required to report regularly to the UN council in New York on his activities in seeking a non-military solution to the fighting between armed rebels and Moammer Gaddafi's security forces.
He has visited Tripoli and Benghazi, the rebel stronghold, several times in the past two months, and held talks with African leaders to work out options for ending the conflict.