Libya peace confce in Sicily on Nov 12

ROME, Oct 03 (AFP): A Libya conference will be held in Sicily in November, Italy's foreign minister said on Tuesday, with talks focusing on an "inclusive approach" to stabilising the war-torn north African country while not fixating on a date for elections.

The peace conference in Palermo on November 12 and 13 will aim to "identify the stages of a stabilisation process", Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi told the Senate.

The meeting would drive towards "a common solution, even if there are differences of opinion between the parties involved", he said.

Four key leaders from Libya agreed at a conference in Paris in May to hold landmark polls on December 10 as part of a French-led plan to stabilise the crisis-hit country despite ongoing violence and deep divisions.

France, however, has faced opposition to the election timetable from the United States along with other European Union countries, notably Italy.

Milanesi said he had received "confirmation of interest" in the conference from Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar as well as support from the US, and was planning on discussing the dossier with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Monday.

The Libyan capital has been at the centre of a battle for influence between armed groups since dictator Moamer Kadhafi was driven from power and killed in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising.