Italy is not taking sides in Libya's escalating military conflict but supports the Libyan people, populist prime minister Giuseppe Conte said on Friday amid diplomatic efforts to broker a ceasefire.
We are not in favour of Haftar or Sarraj but are in favour of the Libyan people," Conte told reporters.
He was speaking on the sidelines of Beijing summit on China's new Silk Road project to expand trade, which Italy signed up to last month.
"We believe that the Libyan people have been waiting too long for and have the right to leave in peace," Conte said.
Italy is seeking to play a major role in the diplomatic push for a truce in this month's fighting in Tripoli between forces loyal to the internationally recognised government and eastern warlord Khalifa Haftar's self-styled army.
At least 278 people have been killed and 1,332 injured in Tripoli while over 30,000 people have fled their homes since Haftar's Libyan National Army began its assault on 5 April, according to the United Nations.
Libya, a former Italian colony, has been in chaos since the Nato-backed ouster of late dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
Italy supports a UN push for a ceasefire in Tripoli and the stabilisation of Libya through a UN facilitated, inclusive political settlement and the holding of elections.