Foreign minister Roberta Pinotti on Thursday said Italy and its allies were likely to intervene militarily in Libya in the next few months, ruling out unilateral intervention in the conflict-wracked country.
"We can't imagine allowing the Spring to pass with stalemate continuing in Libya," Pinotti, Italy's first female defence minister told Corriere della Sera daily.
"In the last month, we have worked harder with the Americans, the British and the French."
Pinotti denied Italy was poised to intervene unilaterally in its former colony. "We all agree that we must avoid uncoordinated actions which did not yield good results in the past," she said.
The timing of military intervention depended on Libya's internal politics and the formation of a long-awaited unity government based in Tripoli, Pinotti added.
"The Libyans have already indicated they would prefer protection for the government when it takes office in Tripoli, as well as military and other types of training."
A unity government named last week under a UN-brokered deal aimed at uniting the country's warring factions on Monday failed to gain the support of the internationally recognised parliament in Tobruk.
Libya has spiralled into chaos since the 2011 ouster of dictator Muammar Gaddafi with rival administrations in Tripoli and Tobruk supported by an array of militias.
Islamic State militants have exploited the country's power vacuum to gain a foothold in Libya and in recent weeks the jihadist group has stepped attacks and is targeting the country's oil infrastructure.
Further defeats in Iraq inflicted on IS by the US-led international military coalition could prompt group to "open a new front in Libya,", Pinotti told Corriere della Sera.
"We have moved our military jets to [the western Sicilian port city of] Trapani and are constantly updating information gathered on the ground," she said.
