Germany sets out broad aims for Berlin Libya conference

Berlin hopes to get all international players to use their influence to push for progress on Libya peace talks, a German Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Wednesday, setting out modest ambitions for a Berlin peace conference this weekend. Spokesman Rainer Breul said the aim was "broader" than the Moscow conference, whose aim had been to secure a ceasefire.

A German government spokesman declined to give a precise list of the conference's participants and could not confirm whether Libya's Fayez al-Serraj and Khalifa Haftar would attend Sunday's summit, but said the invitations had "resonated" well with the invitees. Berlin has invited al-Serraj, who heads the internationally recognized government in Tripoli, and Haftar, who leads the Libyan National Army, an armed group in the east that does not recognize the Tripoli government.