It is not clear whether the 5+5 summit, scheduled to be held in Malta in June, will materialise after a crucial preliminary meeting was yesterday postponed for the third time.

The preliminary meeting, which was to be held in Rome, was expected to decide whether Libya would be invited to the Malta summit and the exact date of the event but it was put off. The 5+5 summit gathers the heads of government of 10 countries bordering the Mediterranean. Unless a preliminary meeting takes place, the summit cannot go ahead.

Meanwhile, yesterday Foreign Minister Tonio Borg was in Rome to attend a second Contact Group meeting on Libya that brings together countries involved in military action on Libya, such as the UK and US, as well as special invitees Malta and Greece.

The first meeting was held in Qatar three weeks ago where Foreign Ministers agreed that Libya should have an immediate ceasefire followed by regime change.

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