Algeria to host foreign ministers on Libya crisis
Algeria will on Thursday host foreign affairs ministers from countries bordering Libya to discuss the conflict there, its Foreign Ministry said.
Ministers from Egypt, Tunisia, Sudan, Chad, Mali and Niger will visit Algiers a week after a summit in Berlin aimed at shoring up a tentative ceasefire.
Germany’s foreign minister will also have meetings in Algiers on Thursday, an Algerian Foreign Ministry statement said.
Algeria, which has a 1,000-km (620-mile) border with Libya, is working to “build consensus to secure the maximum chance for a peace deal” at a proposed future meeting in Algiers, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Algeria maintains good contacts with all sides in Libya. Several other foreign leaders and foreign ministers from Arab and European states and Turkey have all visited Algeria in recent weeks to discuss the crisis.
Already facing its own internal political problems after nearly a year of mass protests that have led to changes in its leadership, Algiers is worried about new security threats arising from any escalation in Libya.
Libya’s conflict represents the first major international test for new Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who was elected last month. Algeria fears attempts by armed groups to enter its territory from Libya to attack its oil and gas facilities.
