The Italian government working for a political solution to the deadly conflict in war-wracked Libya and opposes the use of military force, deputy premier and interior minister Matteo Salvini said on Friday.
"We are seeking a political solution in Libya. The use of force is a last resort," Salvini told members of the foreign press in Milan.
"In other situations, the use of force has never solved anything," Salvini said.
Salvini's comments echoed remarks by premier Giuseppe Conte, who earlier on Friday said he was seeking an immediate ceasefire in Tripoli. Italy and other European powers want a truce to lead to resumed negotiations between the warring Libyan sides aimed at reaching an inclusive political settlement to the conflict in the former Italian colony.
"Yesterday, I met General Haftar at the prime minister's office and repeated to him that military force is not an option," Conte said, referring to two-hour talks he held on Thursday with Libya's eastern warlord Khalifa Haftar whose forces began an assault on Tripoli in early April.
Haftar is reportedly due to hold talks in Paris next week with France's president Emanuel Macron, as part of European diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting in Tripoli that put paid to months of United Nations led peace negotiations.
The military escalation in Tripoli began when Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army entered the capital on 5 April and met with resistance from militias loyal to the beleaguered UN-backed government.
The warfare, including airstrikes and shelling, has killed at least 454 people, injured at least 2,154 and displaced some 60,000, the UN said in its most recent update on 10 May.
