The dissemination of false information about the Russian military intervention in the Libyan conflict by the acting Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya, Stephanie Turco Williams, is unacceptable, Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said at the UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Libya.
"Mr. Secretary, today we once again heard accusations of our country's military intervention in the affairs of Libya. We have repeatedly stated that there are no Russian servicemen in the combat zone in Libya. As there is no reliable data on Russian citizens who participated in armed clashes in Libya," Nebenzia said.
"But we know about the military of other states, including those states that accuse us – that they are on Libyan ground, both in the East and in the West," he added. According to him, this does not confuse those who, for geopolitical reasons, seek to create a false impression that Moscow is allegedly interfering in the internal Libyan armed confrontation.
"Unfortunately, some UN representatives, who should be neutral and impartial, were also involved in such insinuations. In particular, we were surprised to learn that the current acting head of the UN mission in Libya, miss Williams (acting Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya, Stephanie Turco Williams-ed.), reportedly spread these allegations. This is unacceptable for a high-level UN representative, " Nebenzia said.
In May, the Western media published a confidential report by a group of experts, which claimed that employees of the Wagner PMC, as well as some other companies, were present in Libya and supported the forces of Khalifa Haftar.
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 Parliament elected by the people, 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.
An 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.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Zuma \ TASS
Based on materials from RIA Novosti