Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov met with UN special envoy for Libya Ghassan Salame to discuss the settlement of the Libyan crisis, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st April, 2019) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov met with UN special envoy for Libya Ghassan Salame to discuss the settlement of the Libyan crisis, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The meeting was held on Sunday in Tunisia on the sidelines of the 30th Arab League summit.
"The participants of the meeting discussed the issues of resolving the Libyan crisis with an emphasis on the UN efforts to establish a sustainable inclusive inter-Libyan negotiation process aimed at ensuring Libya's unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty through the creation of unified effective state bodies on a consensus basis," the statement read.
During the meeting in the United Arab Emirates in late February, Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj and the head of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Khalifa Haftar agreed on the need to hold general elections in the country, the UN mission in Libya said. The meeting was held at the invitation of Salame.
Earlier, the UN proposed to hold the general elections in Libya in the spring of 2019, as a result of which the legitimate and universally recognized authorities would be formed.
Libya has been torn apart by conflict since longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011. Currently, there is dual authority in Libya. The elected parliament sits in the east of the country. Formed with the support of the UN and the European Union, the Government of National Accord (GNA), headed by Sarraj, operates in the country's west and is headquartered in Tripoli. The authorities of the eastern part of the country operate independently of Tripoli and cooperate with the LNA, headed by Haftar.
