Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio went to Brussels on Tuesday, where he will meet with his French, German and UK counterparts, and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, the Italian Foreign Ministry said in a statement
ROME (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th January, 2020) Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio went to Brussels on Tuesday, where he will meet with his French, German and UK counterparts, and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, the Italian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"Foreign Affairs Minister Mr. Di Maio is in Brussels today for talks with his French, German and UK counterparts, at the extraordinary summit called by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Mr. Josep Borrell, to discuss the Libya and Iran dossiers," the ministry said.
European Commission spokesman Peter Stano confirmed the meeting at a briefing.
In an interview with Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano published earlier in the day, Di Maio said that after a canceled trip of European ministers to Libya, their meeting with the conflicting leaders, Khalifa Haftar of the Libyan National Army (LNA) and Fayez Sarraj of the Government of National Accord (GNA), could take place "anywhere else."
"There is a war in Libya, with the intervention of external players. Italy's goal is to bring together all the actors who influence this situation, from Turkey and Russia to Egypt and the United States," the minister told the newspaper.
Libya has been torn apart between the two rival administrations since 2011, when its long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed, with the LNA controlling the east and the GNA sitting in the country's west. The situation escalated over the past few months as the LNA launched a new offensive on GNA-held Tripoli. On Monday, the LNA declared full control over Sirte, the country's largest city.
