World powers meet in Berlin to discuss Libya crisis

Presence of foreign mercenaries, troops in war-torn country and elections to top meeting’s agenda.

World powers are meeting in Berlin on Wednesday to seek lasting peace in Libya by ensuring the conflict-racked North African country stays firmly on the path towards general elections on December 24. Representatives of Libya’s interim government will join US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as well as the foreign ministers of France and Egypt at the United Nations-sponsored talks. The efforts to end a decade-long spiral of violence in Libya would be the second round in Berlin, after the first attended by the presidents of Turkey, Russia and France in January 2020.