Libya's United Nations backed premier Fayez al Serraj on Monday asked Italy's deputy premier and interior minister Matteo Salvini for "resolute action" to bring peace to the war-torn country, said sources close to Salvini.
The sources described talks between Sarraj and Salvini in Milan on immigration, energy and economic issues as "fruitful", the sources said.
During the meeting, Salvini confirmed Italy's commitment to stabilising Libya, according to the sources.
Italy colonised Libya from 1911-1943 and has major energy interests there. It has sought to play a prominent role in diplomatic efforts towards stabilising the oil-rich state, which has been in turmoil for over eight years.
Fighting flared in Tripoli in early April between eastern warlord Khalifa Haftar's militia and forces loyal to the weak Sarraj government. The deadly battle for the capital has threatened to plunge Libya into another bout of violence on the scale of the Nato-backed 2011 uprising that ousted late dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Libya has rival administrations in Tripoli and in the east which are each backed by a myriad of armed groups vying for control of the country's resources.
