The US ambassador to Libya, Richard Norland, has said that elections in Libya are not an end in themselves, but they are the key to restoring legitimacy for the sake of Libyans and their children, vowing that the US will stay with Libyans on this path.

Norland’s remarks came in a post congratulating Libyans on the 11th anniversary of the February 17 revolution that unleashed both promise and struggle over the past decade.

“Libyans wanted change in 2011 and want change today. They deserve to keep moving on the path from dictatorship through turmoil to, at last, democracy. This is still possible if their leaders put the interests of Libya first and move the country in a positive direction. Though elections were postponed, the desire to hold them has not abated.” Norland added.

He said that Libyans are more than ready to legitimize a lasting government that will unify the country, share oil wealth equitably, and restore Libyan sovereignty over its territory and its borders.

Norland indicated that it is not for the US to tell Libyans what to do in the current situation, but he said he wanted Libyans to know that Washington supports every effort underway, with UN facilitation, to produce compromise solutions that will result as soon as possible in a credible path to elections.