The three African member states of the Security Council tried unsuccessfully Wednesday to appoint a joint African Union-United Nations envoy for Libya, in an apparent attempt to replace current UN envoy Ghassan Salame, Agence France-Presse (AFP) has reported.

According to AFP, diplomats said the Africans raised the issue during closed consultations Wednesday, but there was no support in the 15-member council, with several members saying it wasn’t the time to “change horses in midstream.”

South Africa, Côte d'Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea were following up on decisions by the AU High Level Committee on Libya on July 8 and the AU Peace and Security Council on Sept. 27 in New York calling for a joint envoy, according to AFP.

The diplomats, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity because the council discussions were private, said many Security Council members said they need to focus on implementing Salame’s plan and the Berlin conference.

According to the diplomats, members said the Security Council should work closely with the AU, and they would think about the joint envoy in the future.

The President of Niger also called for appointing a joint AU-UN envoy to Libya from an African country because Libya is in Africa and its crisis cannot be resolved if the AU is kept marginalized.