Egypt will not delegate a representative to an international conference in which officials from 40 countries will meet to discuss the crisis in Libya, sources said Tuesday.
A number of countries involved in the Libya operation will take part in the London conference Tuesday, including Arab countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon, as well as Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa.
Egypt officials feared the conference would seek boosting Western interests and presence in Libya rather than achieving international coordination to protect Libyans from the regime of leader Muammar Qadhafi, sources said. They said officials in Cairo ignored a call made by the British government to attend the conference.
The countries participating aim to form a contact group to take over political leadership of military actions, replacing NATO. The conference is also aimed to prepare for a better future for Libyans in a post-Qadhafi phase.
Both France and England after the conference seek to issue a joint declaration to express international support for Libyans fighting the Qadhafi regime and for improving circumstances in which Libyans would plan their future.
The conference will be held on Tuesday for foreign ministers of countries participating in the military intervention, in accordance with the UN Security Council 1973 resolution on Libya, which stated supporting threatened civilians oppressed by forces loyal to Qadhafi.
