Libyan, German leaders meet in Berlin

By Mucahit Aydemir

BERLIN ( AA) – The leaders of Germany and Libya met Wednesday in the German capital, according to a statement from the Libyan prime minister’s office.

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, who was in Berlin to attend the Second Berlin Conference on Libya, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the results of the conference as well as bilateral political and economic cooperation.

Dbeibeh also thanked Merkel for hosting the first and second Berlin conferences on Libya.

Speaking earlier in the day at a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken before the meeting on Libya, Merkel said “it is very important that we send out a united signal in the direction of Libya that we want to first and foremost see that the people of Libya determine their future.”

Libya witnessed positive developments following a breakthrough in which rival parties agreed on Feb. 5 on a unified new executive authority that will govern Libya in the lead-up to national elections on Dec. 24.

Libyans hope the new government will end years of civil war that have engulfed the country since the ouster and killing of strongman Muammar al-Qaddafi in 2011.

*Writing by Ahmet Gencturk