The U.S reported yesterday that there is agreement between the contesting sides of western and eastern Libya on the need for de-escalation, resumption of oil production and exports and a return to the UN-led political track negotiations.

A press statement sent to Libya Herald yesterday by the U.S. embassy, Tripoli, reported that ‘‘A U.S. delegation, led by National Security Council Senior Director for the Middle East and North Africa Major General Miguel Correa and Ambassador Richard Norland, held virtual discussions with Libyan officials on August 7 to advance concrete, urgent steps to find a demilitarized solution for Sirte and al-Jufra, and reopen Libya’s oil sector with full transparency’’.

The statement went on to say that ‘‘In separate discussions with (Faiez Serraj’s) National Security Advisor Taj al-Din al-Rezagi and House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Yousef al-Agouri, Major General Correa and Ambassador Norland underscored the need for a Libyan-led process to reclaim the country’s sovereignty and eject foreign forces’’.

The statement concluded by saying ‘‘United States will continue to actively engage a range of Libyan leaders who are ready to reject harmful foreign interference, de-escalate, and come together to realize a peaceful solution that benefits all Libyans’’.