Russia vows to end Libyan crisis

Russia will “do everything necessary” to facilitate an agreement between rival camps in Libya to end the country’s political crisis, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday.

“We will assist in resolving all questions in negotiations between Tripoli and Tobruk, with whom we are regularly in contact,” Lavrov said at a press conference following a meeting with his Libyan counterpart Mohamad Taha Siala in Moscow.

“Russia will do everything necessary to fully normalise the situation in Libya and in regard to the international aspect of re-establishing the rights of the Libyan state,” Lavrov said.

Libya has plunged into political chaos and instability since the ouster and killing of its long-time leader Moamer Kadhafi in a NATO-backed 2011 revolution.

Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) based in Tripoli has struggled to impose its authority across the conflict-ridden North African country.

A rival administration based in Libya’s east has refused to recognise the GNA.

– AFP