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Putin, Erdogan vow to carry on support of Libya’s Government of National Unity

The presidential and parliamentary elections are set in Libya for December 24

MOSCOW, May 5. /TASS/. Russia and Turkey will continue to support the efforts of the Government of National Unity in Libya, considering the interests of the main political forces and regions of the country, the Kremlin press service informed on Wednesday after a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"During the discussion of the situation in Libya, [the presidents] agreed to continue supporting the efforts of the Government of National Unity to strengthen the country’s unity taking into consideration the interests of the main political forces and regions," the message says.

Until recently, Libya has had two parallel bodies of executive power: the Government of National Accord (GNA) headed by Fayez al-Sarraj in Tripoli, and an interim government operating in the country’s east together with parliament and supported by the Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Commander Khalifa Haftar. Both sides’ forces engaged in prolonged clashes until a ceasefire agreement was signed in October 2020 in Geneva.

In early February, on the outcomes of the talks launched last year, the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum in Switzerland elected Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh as Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity in Libya, along with the three members of the Presidential Council.

The main goal of the new government bodies in Tripoli is to unite the disparate structures across the country and to prepare and hold the presidential and parliamentary elections in Libya on December 24.