Russia disapproves of Haftar’s power grab in Libya
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow did not approve of Libya’s eastern-based military leader Khalifa Haftar’s move to seize control of the country, the Interfax news agency reported.
“I would not talk here about any leverage that Russia has,” Lavrov said. “We have contact with all the actors in the Libyan conflict, without exception.”
The Kremlin earlier on Tuesday said Russia remained committed to seeking a resolution to the conflict through politics and diplomacy.
Russia believes a political and diplomatic process is the only way to resolve the conflict in Libya, the Kremlin said on Tuesday, after Libya’s eastern-based military leader Khalifa Haftar moved to seize control of the country on Monday.
Haftar said his Libyan National Army (LNA) was accepting a “popular mandate” to rule over the country, apparently brushing aside the civilian authorities which nominally govern eastern Libya.
“In Moscow, we remain convinced that the only possible resolution in Libya can be through political and diplomatic communication between all parties, above all those in conflict,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
