The Interior Minister of the Libyan Parliament-designated government, Essam Abu Zariba praised relations with Egypt and Russia.
In an Interview with Russia’s news agency, Sputnik, Zariba confirmed that Cairo and Moscow “do not interfere in Libya’s internal affairs, and support decisions regarding consensus between the Libyan parties.”
Responding to why countries didn’t recognize his government, the Libyan minister said that the “government was formed by a Libyan-led agreement, and worked to impose a Libyan-led decision. This is the main reason why countries do not recognize the government.”
The Minister also praised relations with Moscow, describing them as “distinguished historical relations.” He expressed his hope that Moscow would play a major role in the stability of Libya during the next period.
Zariba stressed that Russia “has always avoided interfering in Libyan internal affairs. Historical ties have linked us with Russia since ancient times, and our relationship with it is a unique historical relationship that is not a spur of the moment.”
Regarding Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, the Libyan official said that the operation is “an internal Russian affair.”
“This military operation did not affect Libya’s relations with Russia. As for eastern Libya and our government in particular, our relations were not affected by the military operation at all,” he said, according to Sputnik.
Last month, Egypt and Russia stressed the need to focus on the sustainable development of a comprehensive political settlement in Libya.
This came during the Russian-Egyptian consultations which were held at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the level of the competent departments over Libya.
During the talks, the Egyptian-Russian diplomats discussed the possibility of holding a comprehensive dialogue between Libyan political forces, with a view to organizing national elections and establishing permanent state authorities. They also exchanged views on the dire need for reaching a comprehensive political settlement in Libya.