TRIPOLI, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Libya's eastern-based army commander General Khalifa Haftar on Saturday said there were no "indications" that the ongoing UN-sponsored dialogue could be the only solution to the current political crisis in the country.
"The most direct threats to security is the proliferation of arms and domination of armed groups that operate outside the authority of the state. The country is still severely weakened in its institutional structure because of the severe division between the conflicting political parties," Haftar said in a speech at the opening of a security conference in the eastern city of Benghazi.
He pointed out that the door of other alternatives approved by the people remains wide open. "The army and all security services answer to the wishes of the people," referring to a possible military solution.
Haftar's comments come as a new UN-led dialogue between the Libyan factions continues in Tunis since Sept. 26.
Several days ago, the UN Support Mission in Libya announced that dialogue committees representing the eastern Parliament and the Tripoli-based Higher Council of State reached an agreement on restructuring the current Presidential Council, reducing its members to three instead of nine, and separating it from the government.
Gassan Salame, head of the UN Support Mission in Libya, has proposed an action plan in September for Libya that includes amendment of the current UN-sponsored political agreement, holding a UN-sponsored national conference for all Libya's political factions, adopting a constitution and election of a president and a parliament.
Salame met with Haftar in Benghazi on Oct. 5, and discussed the progress of the first stage of the new road map.
Libya has been struggling to make a democratic transition since the fall of former regime in 2011. The country is plagued with political division and unrest.
