Although this week's talks between the Maltese government and the internationally-recognised Libyan government were given the guise of bilateral discussions between neighbouring states, diplomatic sources speaking with this newspaper have indicated that there was a whole lot more than meets the eye going on during the Libyans' visit to Malta earlier this week.

In fact, the Libyan government issued a declaration that it was to attempt to take Tripoli back from the militias that have seized control of the capital, just as its Prime Minister and several Cabinet members were in Malta on Tuesday.

The situation in Libya at present is a dangerous one for Malta, at best. Should Libya fall completely to Islamist or Islamic State factions, Malta would find itself in the concerning situation of having terrorist forces quite literally on its doorstep. And with Islamist factions currently controlling Tripoli and Islamic State-associated militias making their way from the east of the country, the grim spectre of that happening is becoming more and more real.

Malta is obviously keen to do what it can to avoid such a situation and according to diplomatic sources, the real reason behind the visit of Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni, many of his cabinet ministers and several Libyan officials, was a meeting between the United States and Libya to decide on a military strategy for the retaking of Tripoli from which the Libyan government has fled for the relative safety of Tobruk, after the capital was overrun by Islamist militia forces.

The Maltese government, through the Office of the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff Keith Schembri, stated earlier this week that the European Commission had been informed of the meetings with the Libyan government delegation, but that it had been done in an 'informal way' since, he said, the meetings were of a bilateral nature - and presumably had nothing to do with the unofficial civil war currently being waged in Libya.

But, according to our sources, 'bilateral meetings' between Libyan and Maltese ministers would have been pointless since the Libyan Prime Minister's office in Tripoli is occupied not by Abdullah Al-Thinni, but by a rival self-appointed government.

Moreover, the recognised Libyan government is currently ineffective and as such, nothing discussed or decided upon during those bilateral meetings with Maltese ministers could have been of any use whatsoever to anyone in Malta or Libya. The militias that took over Tripoli, operating under the umbrella banner of Libyan Dawn, took control of ministries and state institutions, set up a rival parliament and their own government.

As such, it is blatantly obvious that the Libyan government has far more serious matters on its hands than mere bilateral relations.

Curious timings

During their stay in Malta this week, the Libyan delegation met with UN special envoy to Libya Bernardino Leon and also the Malta-based American Ambassador to Libya Deborah Jones, the latter meeting having taken place shortly after the Libyan delegation touched down in Malta on Monday afternoon.

Not much was said of the meeting apart from Ms Jones later stating on Twitter: "Excellent exchange this evening with PM al-Thinni".

But the very next day, and while the delegation was still in Malta, the Libyan government issued the order for its forces to advance on Tripoli. But nothing of this significant development had been mentioned, at least not publically, by the Libyan government while it was here in Malta.

In an interview with AFP the previous Saturday (18 October), Prime Minister al-Thinni said military forces in the strife-torn country had united to try to recapture Tripoli and second city Benghazi from Islamist militias. 

This was followed almost immediately by his government's visit to Malta for the 'bilateral talks'.

Then, on Tuesday, the Libyan government issued a statement that its army was to retake Tripoli. And with the prospect of an all-out battle for Tripoli being imminent, many have questioned the timing of the talks in Malta.

In fact, on Tuesday afternoon, the Libyan government - most of which, including its Prime Minister, were in Malta - said that its forces were preparing to retake Tripoli from Islamist-allied militias from the western city of Misrata who took over the capital in August.

Prime Minister al-Thinni's government said in a statement on Tuesday that it gave orders to the government forces to "advance toward Tripoli to liberate it" and to free it from the grip of the militias. It urged youth in different neighbourhoods "to join ranks with the forces" to liberate themselves and their city. It also urged its civilian supporters to abstain from revenge attacks, and to hand over any captured militiamen to the army forces.

The Libyan government's statement, posted on Facebook, said that the armed forces now have the green light to "liberate Tripoli and state institutions from the grip of armed groups". The Libyan government also urged Tripoli residents to launch "a civil disobedience campaign until the arrival of the army".

Strangely, none of this was mentioned at the press conference given by Prime Ministers Muscat and al-Thinni, despite the fact that an attempt to retake Tripoli is of major news value.

What did emerge from the press conference was that while Prime Minister al-Thinni had denied requesting foreign military intervention in his beleaguered country, he said he was asking for "logistical support" to overcome difficulties presented by those who are destabilising Libya.

But who, exactly, he had asked for logistical support was not mentioned.

On Wednesday, the Libyan army managed to push into Benghazi, the first time in two months that government forces had entered the eastern city, which has been under the control of Islamist militias.