Lavrov urges competing, conflicting initiatives be avoided in Libyan settlement process
Foreign actors must avoid competing initiatives but act in accord in a bid to broker a national dialogue in Libya, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a joint press conference with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Hussein Abdullah Al-Safadi.
“We in Russia are convinced that to ensure sustainable settlement process in Libya, it is imperative that foreign actors avoid competing, conflicting initiatives and concentrate on the necessity to aim all actions towards inciting Libyan sides to dialogue based on decisions made by the UN Security Council,” Lavrov stated.
The Minister noted that Russian and Jordanian positions on the Libyan settlement coincide. “This crisis can be sorted out strictly through nationwide dialogue in Libya, and everyone who has any kind of influence on various Libyan political forces must stimulate them towards negotiations,” Lavrov said. “The first steps towards this were made, but we face additional challenges now.”
The Russian top diplomat also welcomed efforts taken in Iraq on overcoming the internal political crisis. “Forming of the new government as a result of a dialogue with participation of all political, ethnic and religious groups of this country has become a very important step. We will continue to support our Arab friends in their efforts to stabilize the situation,” Lavrov stressed. “Of course, any outside meddling is unacceptable here, as well.”
Source: TASS
