Italy's foreign minister Luigi Di Maio has spoken on the phone with United States secretary of state Mike Pompeo about the worsening conflict in war-torn Libya, Adnkronos learned from sources on Monday.
Libya has been split into rival administrations in Tripoli and the east of the country since 2014 and since early April, a battle for the capital has been raging between forces loyal to the internationally recognised unity government and eastern warlord Khalifa Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army.
In a further escalation of the conflict, the LNA seized a Turkish ship and its crew in the Mediterranean on Saturday amid heightened tensions with Turkey, which backs the Tripoli-based unity government. The ship was reportedly released on Monday.
Italy has extensive energy interests in oil-rich Libya, its former colony which is one of the main departure points for Mediterranean migrant boat crossings.
