Foreign Minister Dairi seeks British and French support in struggle against IS

By Libya Herald reporter.

Paris, 21 August 2015:

Foreign Minister Mohamed Al-Dairi has had talks in London with his British counterpart Phillip Hammond on the current situation in Libya and in particular on help the UK could provide in combatting IS. He is due to go to Paris tomorrow for similar talks with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

Libya also wants the UN arms embargo lifted, for which support from the UK and France, as veto members of the Security Council, is vital.

“It went well,” Dairi told the Libya Herald, with the UK repeating its full support for the UN-brokered Dialogue process and its commitment to provide help to Libya. But this latter would not happen before the establishment of government of national unity which, he said, was expected to be formed some time in September.

Dairi, who had flown in from Cairo, added he had not asked the UK to intervene militarily in Libya.

The London and Paris visits follow the decision by the Arab League on Tuesday to authorise Arab states to provide military support to the government in the fight against terrorism but also calling for the international community to support it in the battle.

In an interview this week with the Associated Press, Prime Minister Abdullah Al-Thinni repeated earlier calls for an end to the embargo, adding that Libya had been let down by its international allies in the fight against terrorism.

[/restrict]