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Germany on Friday pressed Russia and China to allow the release of an interim UN report on violations of the Libyan arms embargo that found violations by fighters linked to Moscow.
“We have not been able to reach an agreement on this point. I hope that the two delegations that have problems with this give the green light,” Guenter Sautter, Germany’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters before a closing. door meeting of the Security Council requested by Berlin.
The interim expert report, submitted to the Security Council in August and widely leaked, says the Wagner Group, a Russian military contractor reputed to be close to the Kremlin, has committed numerous violations.
Interim reports are generally not published, unlike final reports.
Germany, which heads the committee on Libya sanctions, wants to “make sure we have transparency on this issue,” Sautter said.
“We need to name, blame and shame those who blatantly violate the arms embargo,” he said.
The document, seen by AFP, found growing international support at the time both for strongman Khalifa Haftar, who is backed by Russia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and for the UN-recognized government that has the support of Turkey.
“The arms embargo remains totally ineffective. In the cases of the member states that directly support the parties to the conflict, the violations are extensive, flagrant and with total disregard for sanctions,” he said.
The report points to violations by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Russia, Qatar and Turkey.
Asked about the AFP report in a discussion with several journalists, UAE Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash rejected the accusations and said that his country would not comment on a report he had not read.
“We categorically deny them. Our position is very clear, especially since the Berlin conference (in January), of the need for a ceasefire,” he said.
The UN-backed government and Haftar-linked parliament in eastern Libya reached a fragile ceasefire last month, raising hopes of bringing peace to a nation in crisis since the overthrow of West-backed Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.
