Egypt has objected to an invitation by the African Union (AU) to Turkey and Qatar to take part in a conference on the Libyan crisis which is slated for Wednesday at the AU's headquarters in Addis Ababa, a well-placed African diplomatic source has said.
"Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has strongly objected to the presence of Turkey and Qatar at the meeting of the International Contact Group for Libya," the source, requesting anonymity, told The Anadolu Agency.
Shoukry had told Ismail al-Sharqawi, the AU's Peace and Security Council chief, that there was "no need" for the participation of Doha and Ankara at the meeting, according to the source.
He added that Egypt might boycott or downgrade its level of representation at the meeting after the AU committee, the conference's organizer, rejected Egypt's request.
"AU officials have defended their decision to invite Qatar and Turkey since the two states have a stake in the Libyan crisis," the source said.
He maintained that there are ongoing communications between AU officials and Cairo to convince the latter to send Shoukry to the conference.
He went on to say that Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed al-Dairi, who accuses Doha and Ankara of funding Libya's rival Islamist government, has also objected to the two countries' participation at the meeting.
Relations between Cairo on one hand and Doha and Ankara on the other have been strained since the military ouster of Egypt's elected President Mohamed Morsi in the summer of 2013.
Since then, Doha and Ankara - who had been allies to the Morsi administration - had been vocally critical of Egypt's military-backed authorities, while Egypt had accused the two countries of interfering in its affairs.
The International Contact Group for Libya will meet on Wednesday in Addis Ababa to discuss the Libyan crisis, amid divisions between participants' stances on the option of conducting a military intervention in the violence-ridden country.
The group is composed of 16 Arab and European countries, in addition to the AU, the Arab League and the UN.
The UN envoy to Libya, Bernardino Leon, will submit a report on the situation to the Contact Group, sources had told AA.
Libya has remained in a state of turmoil since the fall of the Muammar Gaddafi regime in 2011. Rival militias have frequently clashed in Libya's main cities, including capital Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi.
Political divisions have yielded two rival seats of government in the country, each of which has its own institutions.
Vying for legislative authority are the internationally-backed House of Representatives, which convenes in the eastern city of Tobruk, and the Islamist-led General National Congress, which – even though its mandate has ended – continues to convene in Tripoli.
The two assemblies support two different governments headquartered in the two respective cities as well as two military entities.
www.aa.com.tr/en - Addis Ababa
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