Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he had secured the support of the Foreign Minister of the Government of National Accord (GNA) of Libya Mohamed Siala to provide Russia with all necessary information and access to its citizens in case of their detention in Libya.
"We have the firm support of Mr. Minister that if, God forbid, something like this happens again with our citizens in the future, we will be immediately provided with all necessary information, access to such persons, which unfortunately did not happen in the case of [Maxim] Shugalei and [Samer Hassan Ali] Swayfan," Lavrov said at a joint press conference with Siala on Wednesday.
The Russian Foreign Minister added that the Russian side thanked the GNA for its efforts to free Shugalei and Swayfan, "illegally detained since last May." "We urge our citizens to show full responsibility when they go to Libya or its territorial waters and not to allow actions that would be illegal from the point of view of Libyan law," the Minister said.
The Foundation for the Protection of National Values employees Sugalei and Swayfan were detained in Libya in May 2019. The government's attorney general's office in Tripoli accused them of, among other things, interfering in Libya's internal affairs and elections, conducting public work in the country without permission from local authorities and security agencies. In addition, according to the prosecutor's office, the Russians traveled to places they were not allowed to visit. On December 10, they were released and brought back home.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Zuma \ TASS
Based on materials from TASS