EU pushes Libya's PM Serraj for ceasefire, warns on Turkey deal

European leaders warned Libya's internationally recognised prime minister on Wednesday against allowing Turkish troops on Libyan soil or agreeing to a natural gas deal with Turkey to avoid worsening the latest turmoil in the country.

A day after British, French, German and Italian foreign ministers condemned Turkish plans to send military personnel to Tripoli, Fayez al-Serraj made a brief trip to Brussels to meet EU officials and Germany's foreign minister, after plans to meet in Tripoli on Tuesday were judged too dangerous.

The European Union, seeking to avoid being sidelined as foreign powers jostle for influence and gas resources in Libya, pressed Serraj to work for a ceasefire as fighting between rival eastern and western administrations intensifies.

The stakes are high - lawlessness in Libya has in recent years disrupted the OPEC member's oil output,...