Peace talks in Libya could drag on till December or beyond, the Prime Minister of the internationally-recognised government, Abdullah Al-Thinni, told Times of Malta.

He expected the Tripoli-based General National Congress (GNC), the breakaway administration, to lay obstacles to the peace process.

“They are trying very hard to have a major political role in the Libya of the future. So if the country became stable and there was a constitution, and presidential elections and general elections, they will not have any political gain,” Mr Al-Thinni said.

His words contrast with the optimism he expressed last Wednesday during a press conference with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat when it was stated that the long-anticipated deal for a national unity government could be concluded this week.

On the same day of the press conference, the GNC said it wanted more time to consider the peace accord draft, which it was expected to sign in Skhirat, Morocco, the following day.

“We are used to these kinds of techniques from the GNC. They are trying to get more concessions from the Parliament side to make more political gains,” he said, arguing that Tripoli was simply trying to buy time.

The mandate of the House of Representatives expires in December, which means that, after that date, it too would no longer be able to claim legitimacy, theoretically putting Tripoli and Tobruk in the same league.

“After that, the country will be in a political vacuum and there will be no standing, legitimate Parliament... This is what has been said continuously and this is what they are trying to do,” Mr Al-Thinni said, adding that the UN’s Special Envoy to Libya, Bernardino Leon, should take note.

However, even the Parliament that appointed Mr Al-Thinni at first rejected the proposals of the UN’s latest draft for a national unity government. Eventually, after discussions and some amendments, it approved them.

But Mr Al-Thinni insisted the agenda of some people in the Tripoli camp was simply to boycott the process and buy more time till December, after which they felt they would be in a better negotiating position.

He revealed that a constitutional committee, which was last year tasked with drafting a new constitution, could soon conclude its work and establish “a solution” to avoid this sort of political vacuum.

“Well, there are a few suggestions that can be made, such as presidential elections, for instance, or changes in the Parliament to avoid this sort of vacuum. They are working hard to avoid this sort of political situation,” he said.

In spite of the gloomy outlook, he was positive an agreement would be reached in the end.

“We are confident that eventually we will reach a solution. But every party is trying to gain points in the process and we are sure that the GNC will keep trying hard to get the leading political role and not simply any role. They will only give their consent at the very last minute, when things reach the very end.”

It has been almost a year since the rebel government took control of the capital Tripoli in a major offensive that saw the country’s main international airport and most of the national airlines fleet reduced to rubble. Since then, it has secured its position there, while the internationally-recognised Parliament was forced to relocate to the eastern town of Tobruk.

The GNC argues that it is the true representative of the revolution, accusing the other side of electoral manipulation and betraying what Libyans fought for in 2011 when they removed the country’s 42-year dictatorship headed by Mummer Gaddafi.

We are confident that eventually we will reach a solution

Tobruk, on the other hand, accuses Tripoli of having carried out a coup because it was unhappy that the Muslim Brotherhood – the main force behind the political formation in the capital – was reduced to near-irrelevance in the country’s first elections.

But even if the two sides manage to bury their differences and come to some sort of power-sharing arrangement pending fresh elections, a new national unity government will still have to confront the multitude of armed militias that effectively control vast territories in the country.

There are some leaders of these militias who do not seem prepared to play ball with a national unity government, irrespective of whether Tripoli eventually decides to sign up to the deal. The solution, according to Mr Al-Thinni, is an international peacekeeping operation.

“If a national unity government is formed and it returns to Tripoli, it is incumbent on the UN and the international community to support this government and help it establish itself...

“They should help in the removal of the militias from the capital. There is no realistic approach on how this can be done right now but, later on, a plan will have to be devised on how to make this happen,” he said.

He said the make-up of such a force, whether made up of EU or UN troops, or forces from the Arab League or the African Union, would have to be decided later. The bottom line, according to Mr Al-Thinni, is that “the countries involved must not have an interest in taking part in Libyan affairs”. But Mr Al-Thinni’s enthusiasm for a peacekeeping force on the ground in Libya is equalled by his uneasiness with the EU’s announced military operation to attack smugglers operating from the coast of Libya.

“There is a very clear difference between these two issues,” he said. “A legitimate peace force agreed to by the government is one thing... This force should be specifically stated in number and limitation and how it is going to work and what it will do inside the country.

“This is opposite to what you are saying about allowing the EU to enter national waters and do whatever it wants without any objection from the Libyans,” he insisted.

The EU has temporarily backed down from its original talk of intercepting smugglers inside Libyan waters and possibly bombing the boats they use to ferry migrants across the Mediterranean before leaving Libya.

When EU foreign ministers approved the operation, christened EU Navor Med, on May 18, they said such an operation inside Libyan territory would require a UN resolution and the explicit consent of the Libyan government. For this reason, the plan was postponed until there was a national unity government with which the EU could negotiate such a mission.

However, Mr Al-Thinni said Libyans would only accept such military intervention in their country if their government was controlling and coordinating the initiative.

“We expect that if there is such an intervention to stop smugglers or illegal immigrants crossing into Europe, it should be under the supervision, guidance and coordination of the new national government… [would] only [be accepted] if it is under the control of the new government,” he said.

He argued that the Libyan government would expect this action to be part of “a comprehensive plan” that did not simply look at securing the country’s shores but also its southern borders in the desert, where an estimated 500 to 1,000 migrants cross into Libya every day.

“Anything short of that will create a problem in Libya where people will just be stuck here.”

The whole interview with Mr Al-Thinni was carried out jointly by Times of Malta and migrantreport.org. See the full Q&A in tomorrow’s The Sunday Times of Malta.