An Italian newspaper, Corriere della Sera, reported that a Russian plane carried Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, a son of Libya’s long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi, from the Libyan city of Zintan to Moscow, to hold secret meetings.
According to the Italian newspaper, Putin is still strongly attracted to “old Gaddafi supporters”, and he is routing for Saif al-Islam Gaddafi behind the scenes.
These developments come after the resumption of dialogue between the Libyan Parliament and its Interim Government ally in an attempt to form a unified government.
In March, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court had unanimously agreed to accept a case against Saif al-Islam Gaddafi. The Court rejected his appeal against the Pre-Trial Chamber I’s decision dismissing his challenge to the admissibility of this case.
On 14 September, the Interim Government headed by Prime Minister Abdullah Al-Thinni submitted its resignation to the Parliament Speaker, Ageela Saleh, after large-scale demonstrations broke out in the east of the country. Protesters took to the streets to express their anger against the permanent power cuts, fuel shortages and the high cost of living.
Last Wednesday, the Prime Minister of the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA), Fayez al-Sarraj, announced his intention to step down by the end of October.