BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th January, 2020) The decision to send international forces to Libya requires consensus, as only the UN Security Council is authorized to make decisions that all sides have to comply with, Russian Special Presidential Envoy for the middle East and Africa and acting Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said on Sunday.
"I think that this matter should be discussed on the basis of consensus," Bogdanov told reporters, in response to the question about Moscow's reaction to Libyan UN-recognized Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj's request to deploy international forces in his country.
The Russian diplomat said that such decision depends on the international community.
"We proceed from the fact that even the outcome of the Berlin conference will be discussed in the [UN] Security Council, and only the Security Council has the authority to make decisions binding all parties," the acting deputy foreign minister added.
The German capital is hosting talks among the two Libyan rival administrations and international actors to find solutions to the longstanding conflict in the North African country.
In Libya, the confrontation between the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) and the rival Libyan National Army (LNA) of Khalifa Haftar has practically split the oil-rich country into a duopoly since 2011. Over the past several weeks, the situation has escalated amid LNA's advance on the GNA-held Libyan capital of Tripoli.
