Foreign Minister Tonio Borg had no meetings with representatives of the Libyan rebel council on the fringes of a London conference held yesterday to discuss developments in Libya.

The Benghazi-based Libyan Interim Transitional National Council was not invited to the conference organised by the UK Foreign Office but officials held a number of fringe meetings with country delegates including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Malta has so far not responded to a request by the rebel council to be recognised as Libya’s legitimate government. France is the only western country to have done so.

According to a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry, Dr Borg told the London conference that the aspirations of the Libyan people had to be met and Malta wanted to help in the democratic development of Libya.

He reaffirmed Malta’s role as a base for humanitarian assistance and said the country was also ready to provide care to people injured in the conflict.

Dr Borg also used the platform to ask the EU and the international community to help Malta deal with an influx of migrants caused by the Libyan crisis.

Malta was thanked by the US for its help in evacuating American citizens from Libya in the early days of the conflict.

The London conference was attended by UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon and brought together Nato allies, countries from the region and a number of Arab states to discuss the developments in Libya and compliance with UN resolutions authorising sanctions and a no-fly zone.