Italy’s foreign minister to visit Turkey on Tuesday

ANKARA

Italy’s Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio will pay a visit to Turkey on Tuesday, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

“On the occasion of this first visit of Minister Luigi di Maio, who took office last September, bilateral relations with Italy will be discussed and views will be exchanged on regional and international issues, especially on Libya,” the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

Maio is expected to meet with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Istanbul this evening, according to diplomatic sources.

Last week Turkey’s parliament passed a motion allowing it to send troops as military aid to Libya’s UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), which has been besieged by forces of Khalifa Haftar, a warlord based in eastern Libya.

Since the ouster of late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, two seats of power have emerged in Libya: one in eastern Libya supported mainly by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates and the other in Tripoli, which enjoys UN and international recognition.

Libya and Italy sit opposite each other on the Mediterranean Sea, making Libya a destination for migrants hoping to get to Europe through Italy's shores.

ANKARA

Italy’s Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio will pay a visit to Turkey on Tuesday, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

Maio is expected to meet with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Istanbul this evening, according to diplomatic sources.

Libya and Italy sit opposite each other on the Mediterranean Sea, making Libya a destination for migrants hoping to get to Europe through Italy's shores.