Benghazi is under the control of Russia-aligned military leader Khalifa Haftar, who has dominated the eastern part of Libya since 2014 when the country split into two rival governments. Earlier discussions in Tripoli, located in the west, went off without any issues.
EU governments were intending to meet solely with Haftar and declined an invitation to meet with several major eastern figures from the Haftar-supported parallel administration, known as the Government of National Stability, including the foreign minister and prime minister.
“The delegations were in the VIP area of the airport and were about to have a meeting, but Haftar wanted several of the ministers (and definitely the PM and the FM of the Eastern Libyan govt) to join the meeting,” an EU government official told POLITICO via text. “That was not possible for the EU Commissioner and the EU govts to accept. Brunner had agreed only for a meeting with Haftar. It seems that Haftar’s reaction was staged.”
An Italian government source informed POLITICO that the mission fell apart after EU Ambassador to Libya Nicola Orlando raised concerns regarding the makeup of the Libyan delegation, to adhere to EU political protocol and avoid interaction with the foreign and interior ministers from the Benghazi-based government, which the EU does not recognize.
Byron Camilleri, Malta’s minister for home affairs, posted on Facebook after returning to Malta, stating: “Unfortunately the meeting scheduled in Benghazi was canceled following a protocol issue between the local authorities and the EU Embassy in Libya.”
Matteo Piantedosi, his Italian counterpart, made no mention of the unusual situation in a Facebook post. A post by Brunner on X commended earlier discussions in Tripoli, mentioning only: “The meetings planned in Benghazi could not take place in the end.”
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