Italy: Egypt is key to solving Libya crisis

Egypt is a key player in find a solution to the Libyan crisis, Italian TV reported Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano saying yesterday.

Alfano revealed that he is meeting with the Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri in the middle of September. “Egypt is a key state in the solution of the Libyan crisis; therefore, I will hold a meeting with its foreign minister by the middle of September,” he said.

He also said that he would reiterate the importance of the united efforts of the UN, mainly the efforts of the UN envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame during the conference planned to be held in London next month about Libya.

The meeting between Alfano and his Egyptian counterpart would be the first since the return of the Italian ambassador to Cairo two weeks ago. Alfano said the return of the ambassador would facilitate the investigations into the killing of the Italian student Giulio Regeni in Egypt.

Read: US ambassador praises Egypt’s efforts in Libya

He also said: “Like others, we recognise the National Agreement Government [in Tripoli], but we were among the first sides who said that General Khalifa Haftar has to play a role in solving the crisis.”

“We facilitate the dialogue among the most effective Libyan sides, including local communities and tribes, and we want to keep Libya away from the crisis in the region such as the one of Qatar with Egypt and the other Gulf States.”

Alfano added that Libya became more secure after the defeat of Daesh in the beginning of this year, “but terror was not ended completely due to the potential entry of foreign fighters from Syria and Iraq.”