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PHOTO FILE: Khalifa Haftar, the military commander who dominates east Libya, arrives to attend an international conference on Libya at the Elysee Palace in Paris on May 29, 2018. REUTERS / Philippe Wojazer / Photo FileReuters
By Ulf Laessing and Ayman al-Warfalli
PALERMO, Italy / BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – The two leading Libyan rival leaders met for the first time in more than five months on Tuesday, as Italy held a conference to reconcile the country's leaders a week ago. after the end of preparations for the organization an election 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 the 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 perceived as the main supporter of Serraj and its weak National Accord Government (NAG) and is working with local groups in Libya to prevent migrants from Europe from embarking by boat.
(Report by Ayman al-Warfalli and Ulf Laessing, edited by Peter Graff)
Copyright 2018 Thomson Reuters.
