Despite opposition boycott, UN and EU welcome Libya deal

But while delegates from the elected Parliament, the House of Representatives based in the east, signed the deal, the Tripoli-based parliament, the General National Congress (GNC), refused to attend.

Libyan political leaders have reached a new version of a UN-brokered peace deal, putting pressure on the Tripoli leadership to sign on and build a unity government in hopes of ending the country’s chaos.

The Tobruk government, recognised internationally, has welcomed what it called a “huge breakthrough”, urging all parties in Libya to overcome their differences and finalise the deal.

UN Special Envoy Bernardino Leon told the initialing ceremony that the agreement is “an important step in the road of peace in Libya”, adding that the door will be open for “those who have chosen not to be here”.

“They have taken the future of Libya in their hands, in a responsible and courageous way”, she said, calling those who have not yet initialed the agreement to display a similar spirit of consensus and responsibility, in the interest of all the Libyan people.

Since the February 2011 Libyan uprising and the killing of late Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi, Libya has sunk in deep security turmoil.

The sharp divisions have yielded two rival seats of government in the country, each of which has its own institutions and military capacities.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi tweeted that it was an “important step in efforts to stabilise the region and re-establish peace in this great country”.

Al Jazeera’s Menem Elamrani, reporting from Skheirat, where the talks were being held, described the agreement as “an important step forward but not a final deal”.

Renzi said that a solution to the conflict in Libya was a “central” to battling “terrorism and (illegal) immigration”. The worldwide Organization for Migration said Friday that some 150,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean to Europe so far this year, with almost all landing in Italy. “I am confident that in the weeks ahead a clear decision will be made and will address all sides and issues”, Leon said.

However, an important party in the Libyan conflict was missing from the agreement.

The deal initialled on Saturday was the fourth draft Leon had proposed.