Liberal leaders Serraj and Haftar meet at the Italian conference

The two main rival Libyan leaders met for the first time in more than five months on Tuesday, as Italy organized a conference to reconcile the country's leaders a week after the United Nations project was put on hold. Hold elections next month.

Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj, whose weak but internationally recognized government is based in western Libya, has met with the commander who heads most of the east, Khalifa Haftar, to Palermo, Sicily, said an Italian government source.

Haftar flew to the conference on Monday night and held meetings away, although he said he would not participate. A photo showed him meeting Serraj in the presence of Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

More than eight years after the overthrow of dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who has long been in power, with NATO air support to Western-backed rebels, no central authority has claimed control of Libya and armed groups took control of the streets.

The United Nations has blamed the outbreak of violence for setting aside plans to hold elections next month. He is still targeting a vote next year, but says Libyans should first decide on the type of elections they want to hold.

Italy, the former colonial power that has significant oil and gas interests in Libya and is working to put an end to smuggling of people from the Libyan coast across the Mediterranean, called on the summit to try to reconcile the rival Libyan factions.

Haftar, a former Gaddafi army officer who lived for years in exile in the United States, became the leader of the most powerful armed faction, after defeating Islamist militants in the east with support from Egypt and the Arab States.

Serraj is at the head of the western government, which has fought to exert control beyond the capital Tripoli. The rival parliaments of East and West also claim legitimacy as a legislative body from across the country.

Although he met Serraj, Haftar threw scorn on the summit.

"I will not participate in the summit, even if it takes 100 years," he said in a television interview watched by Reuters before it aired. He said in a statement that he had come to Italy only for bilateral talks with leaders of neighboring countries.

Libya is eager to play a leading role in Libyan diplomacy, competing with France for organizing a conference in May, the last time Haftar and Serraj met.

The May conference resulted in a commitment to hold the December elections, which were postponed indefinitely.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a strong supporter of Haftar, was in Palermo for the conference, along with officials from Western countries, Arab states and Russia. Sisi and Haftar both skipped the opening dinner on Monday night.

On Monday, Libyan special envoy Ghassan Salame told Reuters that he was hoping for another attempt to hold elections by June, but Libyans should first hold a national conference early of 2019 to decide the format of the vote.

France is courting Haftar, backed by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, who see its forces as a bulwark against Islamists. Italy is seen as the main supporter of Serraj and its weak national agreement government (GNA). She collaborated with local groups in Libya to prevent European migrants
boarding boat.

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Last updated: Tuesday, November 13, 2018 KSA 1:07 PM – GMT 10:07 AM