Libya, the international conference with Draghi, Merkel and Macron in Paris

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• Draghi: "Italy is alongside Libya in the transition"

• Italy-Libya.

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12 November 2021 At the Maison de la Chemie in Paris, the International Conference on Libya is focusing on the need to reach elections by 24 December and to guarantee the territory the complete eviction of all mercenaries present. After the traditional "family photo" work began, co-chaired by France, Italy, Germany, the UN and Libya. 

This morning, Prime Minister

met the President of the Council of Ministers of the National Unity Government,

, at the Italian Embassy in Paris. The bilateral event was held in the presence of the foreign ministers of both countries, Luigi Di Maio and Najla Mangoush.

The French president,

, before the start of the Paris conference on Libya, met together with the president of the Libyan presidential council

and the premier of the national unity government Abdel Hamid Dbeibah.

Macron and his Egyptian counterpart,

, met at the Elysée before the conference began. And the situation in the North African country was one of the central themes of the interview that took place at the Elysée. The two leaders, reported the Arab media, stressed the need to hold the Libyan elections in December, as planned, and agreed on the importance of "coordinating joint efforts to resolve the Libyan crisis". Macron and al-Sisi, reports the Al Ahram website, also spoke of bilateral issues, the fight against terrorism and irregular immigration.

The challenge of the international conference co-chaired by France, Germany, Italy and Libya (under the aegis of the UN) is to ensure that Libya embarks on a safe path of political stabilization that includes the first round of the presidential elections on December 24 followed by a second round and by one vote to elect members of parliament. It is a necessary step to start a new phase in the country after the government of national unity resulting from the UN mediation currently in office.

The conference is the culminating moment of the complex political process that began after the

a year ago agreed by the Libyan National Army of General Khalifa Haftar (East Libyan) and the government of Fayez al Serraj (Tripoli). At the time it was indicated that non-Libyan soldiers and mercenaries would have to leave the country within 90 days, but only on the eve of the conference was there a first signal: at the request of France, the Libyan National Army decided to send 300 foreign fighters and mercenaries.

This is a decisive point: Russia supported Haftar, with the mercenaries of the Wagner Group; Turkey supported Al Serraj's government by supplying weapons, armored vehicles and drones. The UN has estimated that in recent years there have been

in Libya

including Russians, Syrians, Sudanese and Chadians. The expectation is that in the final statement of the conference it is stated that the people or entities in Libya or outside Libya who will act to obstruct the political transition and the electoral process could be subject to international sanctions. In the draft conclusions of the conference, the importance of the reunification of the Libyan Central Bank and the National Oil Corporation is reiterated.

The goal of France, Germany and Italy as well as Libya (whose participation as co-president was not initially foreseen) is to make the

, terms that constitute the key to consolidating 'on the ground', indicates a European diplomat, the possibility of launching a new political phase in Libya.

This is not an acquired fact. The political situation in the country is very fragile and the

headed by Abdel Hamid Dbeibah is facing the most important test: first round for the presidential elections on 24 December, second round on 14 February simultaneously with the vote for the legislative elections.

In the end, this should be the electoral 'double', however there is still some uncertainty: while the Haftar front is betting the cards on the presidential elections, the

front

the parliamentary appointment is favored. Several observers underline how the fragility of the ongoing process is demonstrated by the lack of certainty about the structure and the balance of powers in the future.

Among the keywords that run through the talks and are written in black and white for the final decision in relation to the elections are the terms 'free' and 'inclusive', the same ones that appeared in the UN resolutions, in the

and in the conclusions of the Berlin conference last June. A reference that implies the 'unequivocal' commitment, European sources indicate, of all Libyan actors. In essence, it implies that it should exclude divisive personalities.

The UN 'roadmap' provides that institutional leaders cannot stand as candidates. The contrast between

always remains on the scene. Dbeibah would toy with the idea of ​​running for the presidential elections and it is an already contested choice: none of the contenders have his popularity measured in the polls. Hence the risks that what will be defined in Paris falls within the dangerous eddy of unsolvable conflicts between factions that hate each other and between various centers of power and that the Libyan government in office has not been able to overcome.

The number one of the High Council of State has called for a boycott of the elections to prevent Haftar from running. Assuming that we go to the vote, the issue of foreign fighters and mercenaries, which directly involves Russia and Turkey, would remain nebulous. The President of the Presidential Council of Libya Mohamed al-Menfi believes that there is no vote if the

do not leave Libya.

As Federica Saini Fasanotti of the Ispi and the Brooking Institution noted, they remain in the field, exactly as before and regardless of any request from the UN mission in Libya and from the Libyans themselves, Turkey, Russia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, as well as to mercenaries from the sub-Saharan areas of Sudan and Chad. Their presence only increases the friction between the two local sides'. 

The Summit is attended by heads of state / government of Egypt, Chad, Niger, Tunisia, Cyprus, Greece, Malta, the Netherlands, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Spain and the United Kingdom. Vice-president Kamala Harris participates for the US, while Russia, China, Jordan, Switzerland, Algeria and Morocco take part in the event at the level of Foreign Ministers. Also present were the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the ARVP Josep Borrell, the general secretary of the League of Arab States and that of the G5 Sahel, the president of the Commission of the African Union, and, for the United Nations, Usg Rosemary Di Carlo and the special envoy Jan KubiÜ.

The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, however, did not participate in the Paris Conference on Libya because the French head of state, Emmanuel Macron, did not accept his request not to extend the invitation to Greece.

Representing Turkey at the table is the Deputy Foreign Minister, Sedat Onal.