David Cameron to hold Libya talks with US President and world leaders

David Cameron is to have Libya talks with US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel amid mounting speculation Britain is preparing to deploy troops there.
The Prime Minister will on Monday attend a meeting of the G5 summit of leaders in Hannover, Germany, where he will also meet French President Francois Hollande and Italian Premier Matteo Renzi.

The leaders will also discuss the fight against Isil and Syria.

[st_quote author=”Downing Street spokesman”]We expect defeating Daesh, supporting a new Government in Libya, and tackling migration to dominate the agenda[/st_quote]

The summit comes amid growing speculation about an international military assistance force to support the newly-established Government of National Accord (GNA) in Libya, where a chaotic political situation since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi has created space for IS – also known as Daesh – to win a stronghold in the city of Sirte.

Announcing the Prime Minister’s attendance, a Downing Street spokesman said: “This will be an opportunity to talk about how we work together to tackle the many shared challenges we face. We expect defeating Daesh, supporting a new Government in Libya, and tackling migration to dominate the agenda.”

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, who visited Libya on Monday, played down the prospect of Britain sending combat troops to the north African state, but told MPs on Tuesday it was “quite possible” the GNA would request air and naval support to combat IS.

Mr Hammond added no request or talks on such a military deployment have taken place but he said the UK would consider the idea if it is proposed and indicated MPs would be allowed a vote.

[st_quote author=”Michael Fallon, Defence Secretary”]It is a direct threat to Britain as well as the rest of western Europe and we have every interest in securing the security of a stable Libya[/st_quote]

Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, has said Islamic State militants spreading across Libya pose a direct threat to Britain and the UK must do “everything possible” to stabilise the country.

Mr Fallon said: “Libya is on our doorstep. We’ve seen people smuggling across the Mediterranean, lives being unnecessarily lost at sea. And we’ve now seen the spread of Daesh [Islamic State] terrorism along the Libyan coast. This is very close to us now in western Europe.

“It is a direct threat to Britain as well as the rest of western Europe and we have every interest in securing the security of a stable Libya.”

[su_note note_color=”#fefccb”]The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Libyan News’s editorial policy.[/su_note]