Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday hosted a mini-summit in İstanbul with the prime ministers of Italy and Libya’s UN-recognized government for talks on several issues including migration, officials said.
Images from what the Turkish presidency called “Turkey-Italy-Libya cooperation summit” at Erdoğan’s İstanbul office showed leaders gathered around a table. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also attended the talks.
At the meeting, Erdoğan said it was important to cooperate in addressing the challenges faced by the Mediterranean basin, including irregular migration movements, according to his office.
He also said long-term and sustainable solutions “are needed to eliminate the root causes of irregular migration.”
Libya has been mired in unrest since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew and killed longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi.
The country is now divided between the UN-recognized government in Tripoli and a rival administration based in the east of the country run by military leader Khalifa Haftar.
It has become a hub for tens of thousands of migrants trying to reach Europe, risking their lives at sea.
At the İstanbul talks, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni discussed a series of options to combat international criminal networks of human traffickers, better prevent irregular movements, and support Libya in managing the migratory pressure it is under, according to a statement from her office.
Erdoğan’s government maintains close ties with Libya’s UN-backed government especially on defense and energy issues, as does Italy, the country’s former colonial ruler and the main destination for migrant boats leaving Libyan shores.
The Turkish leader also raised the “humanitarian tragedy” in Gaza during the İstanbul talks, the presidency said.
He said “the international community bears great responsibility for establishing an immediate ceasefire and delivering humanitarian aid to the region as soon as possible.”
© Agence France-Presse