GENEVA
Two rival Libyan factions started Thursday new peace talks in Geneva to deal with the political crisis in the country by creating a unity government.
Since the ouster and death of strongman Muammar Gaddafi in late 2011, Libya has been dogged by lawlessness and frequent clashes between rival groups that have left thousands dead and injured.
The representatives of the Tripoli parliament -- General National Congress (GNC) -- joined the negotiations with Tobruk-based House of Representatives.
The meetings in the first day of two-day talks in the UN at Geneva are taking place separately with Bernardino Leon, special representative and head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). Both sides are expected to participate in a joint meeting with Leon on Friday.
"We are optimistic, that's why we are here, there is a chance of getting an agreement," one of the four representatives of the GNC delegation, Abdurrahman Shaibani A. Sewehli, told journalists.
About presenting their candidates for the prime minister and two deputies to lead the national unity government, Sewehli said, "it is is to early for us to start talking about names and lists. We are still waiting to resolve the issue of the draft agreement" to reach a political agreement.
"If we resolve the the issue of the amendments, we could move towards the signing of the final agreement," he added.
Noting that they will have more talks after Geneva, Sewehli said: "We are here to discuss and negotiate the amendments, once we finish with these amendments we could move forward."
About the Libya talks took place in Istanbul on Wednesday, Sewehli said the Istanbul talks were "frank" and "open".
Abdurrahman Shaibani A. Sewehli, Awad M.A. Abdulsadıg, Mohamed A.B. Hussen and Muhammad A.M. Zaid are the representatives of the GNC delegation in Geneva.
The Libyan political dialogue round commenced at the United Nations Office at Geneva on Thursday.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya Bernardino Leon is holding a number of meetings with the parties on Thursday and Friday.
All parties invited to the meetings have confirmed their attendance, Leon said in a statement.
The country's stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of government, each of which boasts its own institutions and military capacities.
Vying for legislative authority are a Tobruk-based House of Representatives and a General National Congress that convenes in Tripoli.
The two assemblies support two rival governments, respectively headquartered in the two cities.
