Bogdanov Says Held Useful Meetings With All Libyan Participants At Palermo Conference

PALERMO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th November, 2018) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told Sputnik he had held useful meetings with all Libyan participants who had arrived at the Palermo Conference for Libya so far.

According to Bogdanov, he held meetings with Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammed Sayala, President of High Council of State Khaled Mishri, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Council Ahmed Maiteeq, President of the House of Representatives of Libya Aguila Saleh and UN Special Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame.

"There were a lot of meetings, interesting and useful conversations. The agenda of this conference and the possible final documents that nobody has yet seen have just been discussed. Apparently the Italian organizers are preparing them," Bogdanov said.

The two-day conference on Libyan settlement started in the capital of the Italian island of Sicily earlier in the day.

The conference in Palermo follows a French-convened summit in May, which resulted in Libyan leaders' agreement to hold general elections on December 10. Last week, Salame, however, said that the vote should be held in early 2019.

Libya has been in turmoil since the overthrow and killing of its long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The country is divided between two governments, with the eastern part controlled by the Libyan National Army (LNA), and the western part governed by the UN-backed Government of National Accord, led by Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj.