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By Libya Herald reporter.
Paris, 3 October 2016:
Today’s ministerial level meeting on Libya hosted by the French government in Paris failed to make any significant progress on the crisis in the country although it is reported that those attending agreed that the future Libyan government should give a role to Khalifa Hafter. No Libyan participants were invited, however.
Attending, apart from the French, were representatives from Egypt, Germany, Italy, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain Turkey UAE, UK and the USA as well as UN Special Envoy Martin Kobler. However, the Arab League protested that it had not been invited and the Egyptians showed their ambivalence towards the event by sending a low-level delegation headed by its ambassador to Libya.
The Egyptians also are reported to have called for the international arms embargo on Libya to be lifted.
The decision not to invite any Libyan participants was, according to French officials, partly the result of the rapid organising of the event – it followed Faiez Serraj’s visit to Paris last week – and because the aim was to pull draw outside support for the Presidency Council and the Government of National Accord.
“I took this initiative on behalf of France because we want the government of national accord of Mr Sarraj to succeed,” said French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault.
