Italian Defense Minister Elisabetta Trenta arrived in Tripoli on Tuesday amid the ongoing disputes between rival Libyan parties on committing to agreements reached during the Paris conference in May.
Her visit reflects ongoing divisions with France over resolving the conflict in Libya. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian was in Libya earlier this week to follow up with officials on the implementation of the Paris agreements.
Trenta and Italian defense chief of staff Claudio Graziano arrived in Tripoli from Tunisia.
“It would be wrong to hold elections in Libya before reconciliation is reached,” she said after holding talks Government of National Accord Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj.
The rival parties had agreed in Paris to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in December.
“The Libya reconciliation should be comprehensive,” Trenta stressed.
“Failure to reach reconciliation means that we will find ourselves faced by the same problems. Other countries must realize this,” she remarked.
She told Sarraj that Rome was ready to exert efforts aimed at bolstering Libya’s security capabilities to help it preserve its internal security and improve its sovereignty to meet the needs of the people.
She expressed her support for efforts to unify the Libyan army, which should include all security powers that want to take part in defending the country.
Power should be in the hands of the state, Trenta added.
For his part, Sarraj urged Italy to back Libya’s request to partially lift the arms embargo against his country. The new weapons will be directed to counter-terrorism forces and oil facilities and presidential guards.
These three agencies are key to reaching stability, he stressed.
He also praised Italy for its help to the Libyan coastguard in stemming illegal migration, hoping that the force will be properly equipped so that it can perform its rescue duties and crack down on human traffickers.
