Ansamed

(ANSAmed) - ROME, MARCH 6 - ''Either Libya makes a move towards making the implementation of concrete projects possible, or there will be a risk that the situation won't improve'', Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini said Thursday at the end of a Conference on Libya at the foreign ministry in Rome which was attended by roughly 40 delegations. Participants included Libyan Premier Ali Zeidan and Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdelaziz, as well as diplomacy chiefs from the US, France, Germany, Greece, Russia, Egypt, Turkey and other countries. UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman and the head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Tarek Mitri also partecipated.

Libyan authorities ''are called upon to make the most consistent effort, and the international community is called upon to commit itself to supporting them'', the Italian minister added.

'Libyans won't be the only ones responsible if Libya fails, but it will be the failure of all. If Libya succeeds, it won't be only because of the determination of the Libyan people, but also thanks to the support of the international community'', Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdelaziz said Thursday at the close of the international conference.T

The minister declined to answer questions from reporters as to when parliamentary elections will be held, given that the mandate of the General National Congress expired on February 7. ''We went from the dictatorship to the revolution, and from the revolution to the consolidation of our institutions: we inherited a non-State, so how can political parties have matured in such a short time?'' he said instead. The minister went on to remind reporters that Libya's Constituent Assembly, which was elected in recent weeks, is drafting a new constitution that will trace ''a road map for the future of Libya''. In thanking Italy and all participants for the conference, which made ''a qualitative leap'' in its support for Libya compared to the past, Abdelaziz also listed his government's objectives. ''We will pay special attention to security, which has a direct impact on the entire region and beyond; a justice system that is just, impartial, and humane; demilitarizing the militias and integrating former combatants either into the security forces or into civilian society'', the minister said.

Countries attending the conference in Rome called for a two-pronged plan of action to support the North African country, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Thursday. ''The action is two-fold: politically, we call on Libyans to talk to one another and find a stable solution. On the security level, many countries are willing to help Libya, particularly France and Germany'', the minister said on conference sidelines. ''For the first time, the conference has brought together many countries that didn't participate before, such as Russia and China'', Fabius pointed out. ''We are very concerned about Libya due to the lack of security, the terrorist attacks especially in the south, and an unstable political situation'', he explained. France and Germany have agreed on ''joint action to protect arms deposits'' that had been seized from militias but which ''have since been taken by other terrorist groups'', he added. Also on conference margins, Italy's Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini met with her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. Italy and Russia ''fully agree'' on the need to restart the national dialogue, isolate the extremist elements of society, and shore up Libya's fragile institutions, sources said.  (ANSAmed).