The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, confirmed that the situation in Libya has become alarming, pointing out that the reason for this is the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (NATO) Libyan intervention in 2011.
“Now everyone is forced to overcome the consequences of this absolutely unlawful aggression,” Lavrov said in a speech at the Rome Mediterranean Dialogues. “We welcomed the signing of the ceasefire agreement signed upon by the 5+5 Joint Military Commission in Geneva on October 23,” he added.
Lavrov described the ceasefire agreement as a positive step towards establishing a comprehensive national dialogue.
The Russian minister warned against deviating from the goal of the political track, as the recent meetings did not result in the progress that everyone had hoped for.
He added: “We believe that the main task at this stage is to provide assistance from the international community to Libyans in overcoming mistrust and finding compromises without trying to impose ready-made solutions from outside or being biased toward one of the Libyan parties.”
Lavrov expressed Moscow’s concern over the appointment of a new UN Secretary-General special envoy to Libya as this appointment has been postponed and allegedly blocked by the United States. He also urged a fair and transparent distribution of oil revenues for the benefit of all Libyans.