MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd July, 2020) Russia has been emphasizing to all parties involved in the Libyan conflict the need for a ceasefire to serve as a stepping stone for a political settlement instead of being a final result, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, a Russian delegation headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin held high-level consultations on Libya with Turkey in Ankara, with the sides agreeing to work together toward a long-term ceasefire in the country.
"In our contacts with all the Libyan parties, and we work with all of the parties, and in our contacts with its neighbors and all the foreign players, we stress the necessity of an immediate ceasefire - but not as a final stage of our efforts, it must be a stage that must be immediately followed by a process in the framework of the joint military commission and the framework of political settlement and consider the interests of all Libyan regions," Lavrov said.
After the ouster and assassination of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, the country was plunged into a brutal civil war. Today, Libya is divided between two centers of power � an elected parliament in the country's east, supported by the Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Marshal Khalifa Haftar, and the UN-backed Government of National Accord in the west, headed by Fayez Sarraj.
The situation is complicated by the involvement of Turkey and Egypt, which are providing military support to the GNA and the LNA, respectively.
