Italian Prime Minister Receives Invitation To Upcoming Berlin Conference On Libya

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Tuesday that he had received an invitation from German Chancellor Angela Merkel to take part in the Berlin conference on Libyan settlement on Sunday

ROME (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th January, 2020) Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Tuesday that he had received an invitation from German Chancellor Angela Merkel to take part in the Berlin conference on Libyan settlement on Sunday.

"I have just received the invitation from Chancellor Angela Merkel. The conference on Libya will take place next Sunday if nothing unexpected happens. The next hours will be decisive for the last steps of its preparation," Conte told reporters in Cairo, where he arrived to meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi.

On Sunday, the Government of National Accord (GNA) and the rival Libyan National Army (LNA)�announced a ceasefire, effectively halting the months-long LNA offensive to take the GNA-held capital of Tripoli.

On Monday, the warring parties met in Moscow under the mediation of Russia and Turkey in the hopes of concluding an official ceasefire deal. GNA Foreign Minister Mohamed Taher Siala told Sputnik that his party had signed the agreement, while LNA commander Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar had asked for additional time to review its details.

Commenting on the results of the Moscow talks and the parties' failure to secure a deal, Conte said that the truce on the ground was an important outcome that could contribute to a political solution to the conflict, which has been raging since 2011.