Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya Ghassan Salame had a press conference at Palermo, on Tuesday. Salame praised a the conferefnce on Libya as „a success“, despite Ankara pulling out of the talks, at the conference.
“I do consider this conference as a success and as an important milestone in our common struggle to bring back peace, security and prosperity to the Libyan people,” Salame said.
Turkey pulled out from the conference on Tuesday, with Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay issuing an official statement arguing that they had been kept out of the process, claiming that it was very disappointing.
Despite Turkey’s withdrawal, the Italian Prime Minister said „We are all leaving [the conference] but we bring with us the feeling of trust for a perspective of stabilisation of Libya.“
Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, and Libya’s UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez Serraj are among the leaders who are gathering in Palermo at the behest of Conte.
Representatives are hoping to reunite the country’s institutions and find a new path to elections.
Since the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been in a state of civil war. Power is split between the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli and the Tobruk government – supported by LNA chief Haftar – in the country’s east.
