Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio is expected to hold talks in Turkey on Wednesday with his counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on various regional developments, specifically Libya.
On Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held telephone talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the conflict in the North African country.
Merkel’s spokesman said in a statement that they agreed that the United Nations-sponsored peace process in war-torn Libya should be reinforced.
Merkel has backed the Cairo Declaration aimed at resolving the crisis, while Ankara has not and is vying to garner support from western countries to back its position in Libya.
On Di Maio’s visit, the Turkish foreign ministry said discussions will tackle bilateral relations, Ankara’s effort to join the European Union and regional developments.
Ankara, which backs the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), is keen on winning Rome’s support. Italy currently heads the operation of the European Irini mission aimed at monitoring arms smuggling via the Mediterranean to Libya,
Italy has waivered between supporting the GNA and the Libyan National Army, commanded by Khalifa Haftar. It initially supported the GNA, but as the military continued to advance West, it tilted its backing in its favor. As the LNA was pushed back from western regions, Rome was forced to reassess its position and has leaned more towards playing a mediatory role, which would demand that it remain neutral in the conflict.
