Russia is interested in resuming all areas of bilateral cooperation with Libya, including inter-parliamentary exchanges. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a meeting with Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives Aguila Saleh. The text of Lavrov's opening speech was published on the website of the Russian diplomatic mission.
"The sooner the settlement takes place and the normal post-conflict life of your homeland begins, the sooner we will be able to resume all areas of bilateral cooperation: energy, transport infrastructure and in general economic and investment projects that can be implemented in the interests of our peoples, - said Lavrov. - We are interested in resuming other contacts, including inter-parliamentary exchanges".
The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry noted that Saleh is in Moscow at the invitation of the State Duma. "I know that you will have meetings with its leadership. I expect that your visit will be useful in all respects. We will contribute to it in every possible way," he added.
Lavrov also drew attention to the fact that the restart of the political process in Libya continues and is gaining speed. The minister noted the efforts of Saleh, thanks to which many positive things happened in and around Libya. "The ceasefire has been observed for a long time. Your meeting with the head of the Government of National Accord Faez Sarraj in August this year played an important role in restarting the political process. Not without problems, but it continues and is gaining speed," the minister added.
"We are very impressed by your focus on ensuring that the settlement covers all key political forces, all regions of your homeland. That's our approach, too. We have been in active contact with all Libyan political forces for many years now and we will help you implement your initiatives," Lavrov added.
The situation in Libya
Two bodies of executive power have long existed in the country: the Government of National Accord (GNA) Faez Sarraj in Tripoli, together with the Presidential Council (who is also head of state) and the pro-Islamist Higher State Council (HSC, which plays an exclusively advisory role), and the Eastern Cabinet, supported by the House of Representatives (HP, permanent elected parliament) and the Libyan National Army (LNA), Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
A Political Dialogue Forum was held November 9-15 in the Tunisian suburb of the capital, Hammarta, under the patronage of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).
On November 13, acting special envoy of the UN Secretary-General and head of UNSMIL Stephanie Williams said that the participants in the dialogue agreed to hold national elections on December 24, 2021. Meanwhile, the mission later announced the suspension of the Tunisian dialogue, and as reported, it ended without any agreement on mechanisms for the formation of a single executive power - a renewed Presidential Council and Government of National Accord. It is known that the delegates were unable to agree on the names of those who would lead the country during the transition period because of the contradictions. Later, Williams announced that the participants of the forum would hold the second round in the format of a videoconference (started on November 23), having agreed to continue the dialogue "on online platforms to resolve the disputed issues".
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS