Italian PM regrets Turkey’s withdrawal from conference

By Yusuf Hatip

PALERMO, Italy

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said he regretted Turkey's withdrawal from the Libya conference on Tuesday.

“I feel sorry that Turkey’s Vice President Fuat Oktay left the conference. I read his remarks and I didn’t see anything negative about Italy. We must admit that there may be special sensitivities in such decisions,” Conte told reporters after the event in a news conference.

Oktay left the conference half-way saying some parties had a "misleading and detrimental approach" to the issue.

The Turkish vice president met Conte on Monday and discussed bilateral ties, according to a Turkish presidential source.

They also spoke about finding a lasting solution in Libya, stressing on its territorial integrity, sovereignty, and political unity.

They discussed the rapid completion of joint projects and launching of new projects between Ankara and Rome.

Libya has remained dogged by turmoil since 2011 when a bloody NATO-backed uprising led to the ouster and death of long-serving President Muammar Gaddafi after more than four decades in power.

Currently, two rival seats of power are vying for supremacy in Libya: an internationally recognized national unity government based in Tripoli, and a government supported by a legislative assembly based in the eastern city of Tobruk.