Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella denied that his ministry received diplomatic communications from the Tripoli government – which is not recognised by Malta – requesting that peace talks are held here with Tobruk and to finalise 2014 agreements, including a fuel-related deal.

Dr Vella was replying to questions put by The Malta Independent on whether his ministry received three diplomatic letters sent by the Tripoli government asking to visit Malta to hold peace talks with representatives from the Tobruk government in a meeting held under EU and UN auspices; to discuss the issue of the two Libyan embassies in Malta, along with a reinforcing a number of agreements signed last year.

The Malta Independent on Sunday reported that the three letters – seen by this newsroom – sent to both the Foreign Affairs Ministry and to the Prime Minister directly – were not acknowledged.

The 2014 agreements are related to the Malta-Libya fuel deal which would have enabled Malta to purchase fuels at advantageous prices from Libya, the agreement of which was initially reached between Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and then Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan.

Mr Vella highlighted that “Malta is open to dialogue as long as the persons who want to engage in dialogue”, in this particular case referring to the unrecognised Tripoli government, “does not request such meetings with the aim of trying to convince Malta to breach international regulations”.

He continued: “Tripoli is not internationally recognised and it is Tobruk which is,” he emphasised.