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Lavrov emphasizes need to end military activities in Libya without preconditions

It is in the Libyan people’s interest to end military activities, declare an indefinite ceasefire and launch dialogue to develop agreements to be implemented, the Russian minister said

MOSCOW, December 30. /TASS/. The parties to the Libyan conflict need to end military activities without preconditions, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said following talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday.

"I believe that putting an end to military activities is a crucial condition for the launch of political dialogue. We believe that there is a need to end military activities without any preconditions," Lavrov pointed out.

"It is in the Libyan people’s interest to end military activities, declare an indefinite ceasefire and launch dialogue to develop agreements that will be implemented," he went on to say. "Many agreements were proposed by foreign powers, there were written and verbal agreements. Conferences took place in France and Italy, there also was a meeting in the United Arab Emirates. Now the talk is about preparations for a conference in Berlin. All this will maintain the current unclear situation, unless the parties make specific agreements on how to take all political, ethnic and clan interests into account," Lavrov noted.

According to him, it is up to the Libyan people to make a decision "on how to overcome the crisis that the country plunged into following NATO’s aggression."

Libya crisis

There currently are two governments in Libya: the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) headed by Fayez al-Sarraj, which is headquartered in the country’s capital of Tripoli, and Abdullah al-Thani’s cabinet based in the country’s east, which has the support of the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.

On December 12, Haftar announced the launch of a crucial offensive aimed at taking control of the country’s capital. The LNA has repeatedly stated that it would oppose any foreign interference in Libya’s domestic affairs and threatened to sink ships and shoot down cargo aircraft carrying military aid from Turkey.

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Sergey Lavrov Libya

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