No military intervention needed in Libya, say Italy, Egypt

Rome, Dec 30 (IANS/AKI) Peace can only return to Libya through inclusive peace talks between the war-torn country's rival factions - not armed intervention, Italy's and Egypt's Foreign Ministers underlined on Monday.Luigi Di Maio and Sameh Shoukry agreed in a phonecall on the need to step up efforts to ensure Libya's security and stability and rejected any foreign military intervention, according to a statement from Egypt's foreign ministry.Foreign military intervention "would place obstacles in the path of an inclusive political accord to resolve all aspects of the Libyan crisis," the statement said.The international peace conference planned in Berlin in early 2020 is part of the political process towards such a peace accord, the statement said.Di Maio and Shoukry's phonecall came as the Turkish government on Monday fast-tracked a bill mandating the deployment of troops to Libya following a request last week from the internationally recognised government in Tripoli, which is fending off a nine-month-old assault from eastern warlord Khalifa Haftar's forces.Turkey's opposition is opposed to the government's bill.
--IANS/AKI
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