Russia is working with all influential international players on the Libyan settlement, including Turkey, and will continue to push Ankara to exert a constructive influence on the Government of National Accord (GNA) of Libya, Faiz Sarraj. This was stated by the Russian President's Special Representative on the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov in an interview with the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram, the text of which is posted on the website of the Russian MFA.
The Deputy Minister noted that the Russian Federation closely interacts with all influential international players on the Libyan issue, including Turkey "taking into account its special relations with the Tripoli authorities". "The well-known January initiative of the presidents of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan played a positive role in terms of the Declaration of a ceasefire by the parties to the conflict, which created a favorable background for the Berlin conference," he said.
"Unfortunately, the truce was short-lived, and active fighting resumed. We will continue to push Ankara to exert a constructive influence on the government of Faiz Sarraj. At the same time, we are working with the Americans, with the Europeans, and with leading regional countries," Bogdanov said, recalling the phone conversation between the presidents of Russia and Egypt on June 8.
In addition, the Deputy Minister recalled the position of the Russian Federation on the Libyan settlement. "We are in favor of an immediate cessation of hostilities and the beginning of a political dialogue on the post-conflict settlement of Libya and the formation of unified state authorities based on the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council and the decisions of the international Berlin conference. We believe that a good basis for the implementation of these tasks is the initiative of the speaker of the Libyan Parliament Aguila Saleh on April 23 this year, which was further developed in the "Cairo Declaration", announced by the President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on June 6 this year," the Deputy Foreign Minister said.
The Special Representative of the President also noted that not only Saleh was received in Russia. "A month earlier, representatives of the Western Libyan camp visited Moscow - Deputy Chairman of the Government of National Accord (GNA) Ahmed Maiteeq and Foreign Minister of the GNA Mohammed Taher Siyala. Of course, the conversation with both delegations was about ways to overcome the crisis in Libya, " he explained.
The situation in Libya
In Libya, for a long time, there have been two parallel bodies of executive power: the GNA and the interim cabinet, which operates in the East of the country jointly with the House of Representatives (a permanent elected Parliament) and is supported by the LNA. More than a year ago, the opposing camps started fighting for the country's main city after Haftar launched an offensive on the capital on April 4, 2019, with the goal, as he claimed, of liberating it from terrorists.
The Tripoli Cabinet officially asked for help from Turkey on the basis of a Memorandum of military cooperation signed with it. To date, with the active support of Ankara, the GNA has managed to regain control of a number of territories previously captured by the LNA.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Alexander Shcherbak / TASS
Based on materials from TASS