By Saber Ayyub.
Tripoli, 13 April 2016:
Following he is meeting yesterday in Tripoli with Italian foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni, prime minister-designate Faiez . . .[restrict]Serraj has arrived in Istanbul for the two-day Islamic summit which starts there tomorrow. He was welcomed on arrival by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
It is Serraj’s first Islamic summit but not his first visit to Turkey since being named as prime minister-designate. He was in Ankara in January for talks with Turkish premier Ahmet Davutoglu on potential Turkish support for Libya once the national unity government is endorsed by the House of Representatives.
Serraj is expected to lobby other Muslim states for support while at the summit, especially Saudi Arabia whose delegation is being led by King Salman.
For its part, however, Turkey continues to be accused by anti-Serraj voices, especially in the east of the country, of providing support to Islamists in Libya.
It is not known if Serraj will also meet former Tripoli military strongman Abdulhakim Belhaj who is now based in Istanbul. In recent days, UN Special Envoy Martin Kobler has been to Istanbul on three occasions to press on Bejhaj the need to support Serraj in Tripoli. [/restrict]
