Russia is one of the countries of the Berlin process on Libya, its participation in the political settlement in this country is necessary, the representative of the German Foreign Ministry Christopher Burger said.
"Russia is one of the countries participating in the Berlin process and belongs to a group of countries that we decided during the organization of the Berlin process that they should be present at the negotiating table, because they have influence in Libya... Therefore, it is important for us that Russia is involved in all efforts to influence the parties to the conflict, so as not to hinder a political solution," Burger said at a briefing in Berlin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a telephone conversation on Tuesday expressed concern about the escalation of fighting in Libya, the Kremlin's press service said earlier. The sides stressed that there is no alternative to an early ceasefire and launching inter-Libyan talks under the UN auspices.
The international conference on Libya was held in Berlin on January 19 with the participation of Russia, the United States, Turkey, Egypt and a number of other countries, as well as the EU and the UN. The main outcome of the conference was a call by its participants for a ceasefire in Libya and a commitment to refrain from interfering in the conflict, observing the arms embargo on the parties. In addition, the participants of the meeting proposed to create a Committee to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.
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, and the West, in the capital Tripoli, - the Government of National Accord, formed with the support of the UN and the European Union, led 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.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia didn't take sides in the Libyan conflict and put the interests of Libyans first. He noted that Moscow's goal was to restore peace and security throughout Libya. In addition, the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov reported that there were no Russian troops in Libya, and noted that the only possible solution in this country was political and diplomatic communication between all parties to the conflict. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that further prolongation of the systemic crisis in Libya threatened to have disastrous consequences.
In late January, Moscow attempted to sit at the negotiating table the main opposing forces, the talks were attended by the heads of Foreign and Defense Ministers of Russia and Turkey, with representatives of the Libyan sides. On June 3, a delegation of the Government of National Accord of Libya visited Moscow for talks with the Russian Foreign Ministry. GNA's Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed Maiteeq, following a meeting with Lavrov and the Russian Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said that the military escalation in Libya would decrease in the next few days "thanks to the efforts of Russian diplomacy." Lavrov at a meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister of the GNA called for an early ceasefire in Libya.
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Based on materials from RIA Novosti