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GNA Interior Minister: Sarraj Held Secret Talks in Cairo

GNA chief Fayez al-Sarraj. (AFP)
GNA chief Fayez al-Sarraj. (AFP)
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GNA Interior Minister: Sarraj Held Secret Talks in Cairo

GNA chief Fayez al-Sarraj. (AFP)
GNA chief Fayez al-Sarraj. (AFP)

Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) chief Fayez al-Sarraj recently made a secret trip to Egypt, revealed GNA Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha.

Last week’s trip, which lasted only a few hours, saw him meet various Egyptian officials before he departed for Bahrain where he offered his condolences over the death of its prime minister, said Bashagha.

The minister, who had returned from France on an official visit, revealed that he had requested from Egyptian authorities that his recent trip to their country be open.

Bashagha is seeking to present himself as a successor to Sarraj. He has claimed that all police and security departments in western, eastern and southern Libya are affiliated with him administratively and financially. He has also boasted that he has been able to pay the salaries of 250,000 police personnel.

Separately, members of the Libyan parliament are preparing to meet in Morocco’s Tangiers to hold talks on uniting the legislative authorities in the country.

Libya is divided between an east-based legislature, headed by Speaker Aguila Saleh, and another based in the capital Tripoli in the west.

A delegation from the Tripoli parliament had arrived in Morocco ahead of the talks. It includes all members of the legislature.

Members of the east-based parliament were flown to Morocco onboard a plane chartered by Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar.

The Tangiers meeting will be followed by official talks inside Libya.

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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.