ROME (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th January, 2020) Italy is ready to host the next conference on Libyan settlement, which is necessary to continue the implementation of political process in this country, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Sunday.
"Italy is ready to host the next meeting [on Libya] for implementing of the political process and providing stability to the region," Di Maio wrote on his Facebook upon arrival in Berlin.
Later in the day, the foreign minister assured reporters that the results of the conference would be positive.
"The Berlin conference will be an important starting point, but today we are only setting the framework, and in the coming days it will be necessary to implement specific initiatives to achieve the ceasefire, to maintain dialogue between the sides and block the flow of arms into the country," Di Maio said.
According to the minister, the shutdown of some ports for oil exports by forces of Libyan National Army (LNA) is weakening Libya and its people since oil exports are one of the few sources of Libya's income.
On Saturday, the Libya National Oil Corporation (NOC) declared a force majeure after LNA forces had blocked oil exports from a number of ports. The company said that this would result in a loss of crude oil production of 800,000 barrels per day and daily financial losses of approximately $55 million.
Libya has been torn apart between the two rival administrations since 2011, when its long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed. The Libyan National Army, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, currently controls the majority of territory in Libya's eastern regions, while the Tripoli-based UN-backed Government of National Accord, led by Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj, has a foothold in the country's west.
On Sunday, representatives from a number of countries and organizations, including Russia, the US, Turkey, Egypt, European Union and United Nations are holding a meeting in Berlin to find solutions to the conflict in the North African country. The Berlin conference follows the intra-Libyan talks in Moscow that took place last week, mediated by Russia and Turkey.
