EU leaders discuss Libya after diplomatic snub

Three EU leaders met on the sidelines of a conference on Ukraine to talk about Libya, days after a delegation of EU ministers was ordered to leave eastern Libya during an official visit.

During the conference, Prime Minister Robert Abela met with Italian and Greek PMs Giorgia Meloni and Kyriakos Mitsotakis to talk about Libya with European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen.

According to a press statement from the Maltese government, the talks centred on strengthening strategic cooperation with Libya, particularly on regional stability and migration.

Ministers from Malta, Greece and Libya travelled to Libya on Tuesday for high-level meetings. The trip started in Tripoli, with the group holding talks with the UN-backed Government of National Unity.

However, when they flew to Benghazi for a second leg of discussions, the ministers were informed their visit had been cancelled and were instructured to leave Libyan territory immediately.

The delegation was forced to board the return flight without holding any meetings in the city, which is controlled by the rival administration led by Khalifa Haftar.

A day later, Mitsotakis announced that Greece will suspend asylum processing for migrants arriving by sea from North Africa for three months. In the days prior to this, over 2,000 migrants landed in Crete.