Moscow calls for consolidation of all Libyan forces — Lavrov

MOSCOW, June 15. /TASS/. Moscow calls for consolidation of all Libyan forces and supports those who seek a nationwide dialogue and accord, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the State Duma on Wednesday at the ‘government hour’ session.

"Libya is an example of catastrophic results of the mindless power politics aimed at changing regimes, an example of a catastrophe that was created by those who flagrantly violated the UN Security Council resolution on the no-fly zone," Lavrov said.

"The consequences of the Libyan crisis are felt not only in the neighboring countries of North Africa, but also in the Sahara-Sahel region. These are Chad, the Central African Republic and Mali," the minister said. "Notably, the IS militants and those terrorist groups that entered into an alliance with them, are fighting there to a great extent using the weapons from Europe, from some countries in the Middle East region, which, contrary to the UN-imposed embargo, were illegally supplied to the forces that wanted to overthrow the Gaddafi regime."

"We feel now that our Western colleagues, especially colleagues in the region - Egypt, for example, are perfectly aware of the need to overcome the thoughtless behavior of the West, to do everything possible to restore the national unity of the Libyan people," he said. "We know about the attempts to ignore rather large units of Libyan tribes that have been most effectively fighting against IS militants that have taken root in many parts of Libya."

"There is a decision, approved by the UN Security Council," the Russian foreign minister said. "This is the Skhirat agreement, which was concluded in Morocco at the end of 2015, in accordance with which the so-called government of national unity was established. However, the creation of this government - in accordance with the Skhirat agreement - must be ratified by a parliament, which will be recognized by the international community as the legitimate parliament of Libya that sits in Tobruk. Our Western colleagues have the temptation to skip this part of the agreements and to focus on the support of those people who lead the national unity government and who still cannot come to Tripoli because they stay at a military airbase near the city for safety considerations."

"We are convinced that it is necessary to consolidate all the Libyan forces and only then take heed to the requests to the international community that will be put forward by the united Libyan people," the minister said. "The people who remember the Libya-Russia ties have never broken contact with us. We cooperate with them and support them in their aspiration for a nationwide dialogue and accord.