Russia has decided to reopen its embassy in Libya, although its boss will have a temporary base in neighboring Tunisia, the Interfax news agency quoted Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as saying.
Russia evacuated its diplomats from Libya in October 2013 after an armed faction attacked its embassy in Tripoli.
Lavrov, speaking at a meeting with Libya’s pro-Khalifa Haftar eastern parliament speaker Aguila Saleh on Friday, reiterated Russia’s desire for a cessation of hostilities in Libya and the start of political dialogue.
“We made the decision to reopen the Russian embassy in Libya, which at this stage will be headed by Charge d’Affaires Jamshed Boltaev,” he said. “She will be temporarily established in Tunisia, but I want to emphasize that her duties include representing Russia throughout the entire territory of Libya.”
Libya has been shattered by violence that draws tribal fighters and foreign actors since the 2011 overthrow and assassination of leader Muammar Gaddafi in a Western-backed uprising.
The oil-rich country is divided between rival administrations in the east and west, and the conflict recently attracted increasing foreign participation.
The UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) is based in Tripoli, the capital, while renegade military commander Haftar, in the country’s second largest city, Benghazi, rules the east.
Lavrov also said that a ceasefire in the Libyan conflict, proposed by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi alongside Haftar in Cairo on June 6, could work alongside decisions made at an international conference in Berlin on the situation. in the North African country.
The GNA is backed by Turkey, while Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) is supported by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Russia.
In recent weeks, the GNA, with the support of Turkey, has made important military advances, forcing Haftar’s forces to withdraw after regaining control over Tripoli and Tarhuna, in addition to other strategic locations, including al-Watiya air base.
Since then, the GNA launched a military operation to take the central coastal city of Sirte and Jufra further south.
The internationally recognized government in Tripoli has been attacked by Haftar forces since April 2019, with more than 1,000 people killed in the violence.
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