The Libyan government considers its priority goal to achieve the withdrawal of foreign troops illegally staying on the territory of the country, Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh said on Thursday at talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
"First of all, Libya is now on the verge of disintegration. So our first goal is to ensure the unity, stability, security and development of our country. The first goal of the Government of National Unity is to ensure the withdrawal of foreign troops that are illegally on Libyan territory," he said.
"We came to Moscow to discuss prospects for peace in Libya. You, as a great power, share our concerns, so we came here to ask for help and assistance in overcoming this disunity and in ending this war," Dbeibeh said.
The visit is the government's first trip to a European state, he said. "We have come to you asking for help," he added. Dbeibeh noted that Libya had been suffering from a devastating war for ten years, but after that time, "we finally managed to unite and come together in a government of national unity."
"We managed to unite more than 80 percent of the institutions and institutions of the Libyan state under a national unity government. Only the military structures remain to be unified," he stressed. - "All the participants, the actors in this structure must come together and meet under the auspices of the national unity government so that we can begin to build this young state.
The Libyan government is urging Russian companies, including gas companies, to resume operations in the country, Dbeibeh said. "Through you, we are appealing to all Russian companies that have worked in our country to return, in particular companies that have worked in the gas sector," he said.
Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh also recalled that some Russian companies have signed big contracts, particularly for the construction of a railway line and for work in other areas. "And we want to resume and intensify work on contracts signed with Russian economic operators before 2011," he pointed out.
"Russia is a big and great state that has expertise in all areas, including service development, health care, oil production and all other infrastructure areas," the Libyan Prime Minister stressed.
In January, Lavrov said at a meeting with the Libyan side that Russian companies were ready to resume their work in Libya as the situation in the Arab country improves.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS