Moscow hopes to reopen its Embassy in Tripoli, Libya, soon after all security issues are resolved, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told RIA Novosti.
The Russian diplomatic mission was evacuated from the Libyan capital in August 2014 due to the aggravation of the situation in the country. In November 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed Ivan Molotkov, Russia's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Libya. In July 2020, Lavrov said that Russia was resuming the work of the Embassy in Libya, it will represent the interests of the Russian Federation throughout the country, but for now it will be based in Tunisia.
"Our Embassy will return to Tripoli, I hope, soon - as soon as basic security is provided there. A number of embassies exist there and are still operating, but security is very, very fragile, " Lavrov said.
At the same time, he noted that the Embassy, even while in Tunisia, "is engaged in contacts with all the Libyan parties."
After the overthrow and death of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya effectively ceased to function as a single state. Now the country is ruled by dual power. The East is ruled by the people's elected Parliament, while in the West, in the capital Tripoli, the Government of National Accord, formed with the support of the UN and the European Union, is headed by Fayez Sarraj. The authorities in the Eastern part of the country operate independently of Tripoli and cooperate with the Libyan National Army, led by Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who has not stopped trying to capture Tripoli since April 2019.
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Based on materials RIA Novosti