Libya's years-old conflict in is one of the "most delicate" to end and enforcing the United Nations arms embargo is essential to a peace settlement in the war-wracked country, Italy's foreign undersecretary Manlio Di Stefano stated on Tuesday.
"The Libyan crisis is one of the most delicate to resolve. A protracted armed conflict needs to be resolved with an arms embargo," Di Stefano wrote on Facebook.
"If weapons continue to enter Libya, it will be difficult to end the hostilities," the post continued.
Due to foreign minister Luigi Di Maio, Italy "has played a leading role" in moves to implement the (much-violated) UN arms embargo, Di Stefano wrote.
Di Stefano was referring to a new European Union mission in the Mediterranean that Di Maio announced on Monday after a ministerial summit in Brussels.
The new mission, agreed by all EU countries, will replace the Sofia migrant rescue mission that was suspended last year.
"The mission will be able to monitor the trafficking of arms to Libya via sea, air and land," Di Stefano wrote.
Libya was an Italian colony from 1911-1943 and Italy has extensive energy interests in the oil-rich country from which many migrant smuggling boats set sail for Europe.
