Libya's parliament speaker arrives in Qatar

Libyan Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh arrived in Qatar to meet Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Qatari, according to media reports, Anadolu Agency reported.

Saleh and his accompanying delegation were welcomed Friday by Qatar’s Speaker of the Shura Council Hassan bin Abdullah Al Ghanim, senior Qatari officials and the Libyan Ambassador in Doha, Mohammed Mustafa Al Lafi, said state-run Qatar News Agency.

Libyan lawmaker Abdel-Men’em Al-Arfy told Anadolu Agency that Saleh was invited by Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman and the visit “aims to bring closer the views of the two sides.”

In recent years, the Libyan Parliament accused Qatar of supporting armed groups opposed to the East Libya-based assembly, an accusation denied by Doha.

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Oil-rich Libya has remained in turmoil since 2011 when longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi was ousted after four decades in power.

The situation has worsened since March when parliament appointed a new government led by former Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha.

Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, leader of the Tripoli-based National Unity Government, insists he will cede authority only to a government that comes through an “elected parliament,” raising fears that Libya could slip back into a civil war.