Libya PM accepts Sudan plan for peace talks: minister



KHARTOUM, SUDAN- Sudan said on Tuesday that Libya's internationally recognised premier has accepted its proposal to bring together different groups in his strife-torn North African nation for talks on ending the conflict.
Mounting unrest across Libya has virtually confined the internationally recognised government to the eastern city of Tobruk, and last month it accused Sudan of arming "terror" groups on its territory.



Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani "accepted the plan presented by President (Omar) al-Bashir to bring different Libyan groups together, and we have a clear plan," said Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Karti.
Speaking to reporters, Karti gave no further details of the plan, only saying it would be discussed with ministers at the next neighbouring countries of Libya meeting in the Sudanese capital.
His remarks came after the Libyan premier, who was in Khartoum for a three-day visit, met with Bashir and other senior Sudanese officials.
In September, Thani's government said Sudan was arming "terror" groups after an arms-laden Sudanese plane touched down at an airbase in southern Libya, allegedly bound for a military airbase in Tripoli held by mostly Islamist militias who seized the capital in August.
Sudan denied the allegations, and Karti said on Tuesday that Khartoum's "communications with different Libyan groups" would come only as part of their plan for talks about Libya.
Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed al-Dairi struck a conciliatory stance after the meeting, saying of the allegations Khartoum was arming groups in Libya that his government wanted "to close this page".
He said Libya and Sudan had a "relationship of military cooperation, like the one we have with Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and the Emirates, and Sudan is helping us in capacity building and training Libyan army officers".
Since the 2011 revolution that toppled longtime leader Moamer Kadhafi, Libya's authorities have failed to stamp their authority on the militias that fought in the uprising.
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Wednesday, October 29th 2014
AFP
           


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