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| E.U foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini arrives for Libya talks in Vienna, Austria, Monday May 16, 2016 |
VIENNA
(AP) -- In a move fraught with risk, the United States and other world
powers said Monday they would supply Libya's internationally recognized
government with weapons to counter the Islamic State and other militant
groups gaining footholds in the chaos-wracked country's lawless regions.
Aiming
at once to shore up the fragile government, and prevent Islamic State
fighters and rival militias from further gains, the U.S., the four other
permanent U.N. Security Council members and more than 15 other nations
said they would approve exemptions to a United Nations arms embargo to
allow military sales and aid to Libya's so-called "Government of
National Accord."
In a joint communique, the
nations said that while the broader embargo will remain in place, they
are "ready to respond to the Libyan government's requests for training
and equipping" government forces.
"We will fully support these efforts while continuing to reinforce the UN arms embargo," the communique said.
With
support from all five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council,
the plan is unlikely to face significant opposition from any quarter.
The
communique was issued at the end of the talks that gathered U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry and top officials from more than 20 other
nations to discuss ways to strengthen Libya's fledgling government. The
aim is to give the internationally recognized administration more muscle
in fighting Islamic State radicals and end its rivalry with a group to
the east claiming legitimacy.
The step will
boost the government's efforts to consolidate power and regain control
over Libyan state institutions like the central bank and national oil
company. However, it also comes with risks, not least of which is that
the arms may be captured or otherwise taken by the Islamic State or
other groups.
Kerry called the plan "a delicate balance."
"But
we are all of us here today supportive of the fact that if you have a
legitimate government and that legitimate government is fighting
terrorism, that legitimate government should not be victimized by (the
embargo)," he told reporters.
Libyan Premier Fayez al-Sarraj said his government would soon submit a weapons wish list to the Security Council for approval.
"We have a major challenge ahead of us," in fighting extremists, he said. "We urge the international community to assist us."
Before the meeting, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier outlined the high stakes at hand.
"The
key question is whether Libya remains a place where terrorism, criminal
human smuggling and instability continue to expand, or if we are able,
together with the government of national unity to recover stability," he
told reporters.
The challenges are daunting.
Libya
descended into chaos after the toppling and death of Moammar Gaddafi
five years ago and soon turned into a battleground of rival militias
battling for powers. More recently, the power vacuum has allowed Islamic
State radicals to expand their presence, giving them a potential base
in a country separated from Europe only by a relatively small stretch of
the Mediterranean Sea.
Also worrying for
Europe is the potential threat of a mass influx of refugees amassing in
Libya, now that the earlier route from Turkey into Greece has been
essentially shut down. British Foreign Secretary David Hammond said his
government had received a request from the Libyan government to bolster
its Coast Guard - a project "which will address Libyan concerns about
smuggling and insecurity on their border but will also address European
concerns about illegal migration."
In Libya,
meanwhile, the U.N.-established presidency council on Monday effectively
gave the go-ahead for 18 government ministers to start work, even
though they have not received backing from the parliament.
The
council was created under a U.N.-brokered unity deal struck in December
to reconcile Libya's many political divisions. It won the support of a
former powerbase in the country's capital, Tripoli, but failed to secure
a vote of confidence by the country's internationally recognized
parliament, based in Tobruk, a city in eastern Libya.
The
U.N. deal also created the internationally recognized government,
through a de facto Cabinet to administer the country under Prime
Minister-designate Fayez Serraj and the 18 ministers will answer to him.
Divisions
in theTobruk parliament between boycotters and supporters of the new
government have prevented the house from reaching a quorum to endorse
the council.
