The European Union's planned naval and aerial mission to enforce the United Nations arms embargo against Libya could also extend to the mainland if the UN-backed government agrees, Italy's foreign minister Luigi Di Maio said on Tuesday.
"If it is authorised by Libya the mission...can also extend to its soil and monitor its borders," Di Maio said.
Di Maio was speaking to journalists at a press conference in Rome after talks with Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, Italy's defence minister Lorenzo Guerini and his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu.
Italy proposed the planned naval, aerial and land mission, Di Maio said.
"For this reason we are pleased that the EU listened to us," he said.
Stopping arms entering Libya is crucial to ending the nine-year-old conflict, Di Maio stated.
"If we manage to stop the weaponry getting in, the two sides will be able to increase their cooperation," he said.
Lavrov told reporters that Russia wants to work closely with Italy on international efforts to the civil war in its former colony and "fully supports" United Nations envoy Ghassan Salame's roadmap for an inclusive, negotiated settlement to the deadly conflict.
