A high-ranking official in the Libyan National Army (LNA) attended the eighth Moscow Conference on International Security held in Moscow April 23-25.
Kheiri al-Tamimi, the head of the LNA commander’s office, showed up at the high-profile conference organized by the Russian military. Both the Russian defense and foreign ministers were speaking at the opening session.
The visit comes at a time when the LNA forces fight the internationally recognized government for the control of Tripoli.
A Russian defense ministry official guided Tamimi through a crowd of delegates and assisted in setting up interviews, including a live broadcast on a Russian state TV channel, according to Reuters.
Russia’s military has long voiced backing for the LNA, which dominates eastern Libya and in early April launched an offensive on Tripoli.
Tamimi made statements to Russia Today, in which he said the LNA Commander Khalifa Haftar carefully studied the military option before the start of military operations in Tripoli, claiming the operations of the National Army have international support.
He added the Government of National Accord has granted legitimacy to illegal armed groups, noting that the countries that support the GNA want to keep Libya as “a heaven for Islamic extremist movements.”
The LNA official pointed out there are contacts with the city of Zawia to enter it without fighting, explaining that “the national army aims to liberate the western region of terrorist organizations.”
In a second interview with Sputnik, Tamimi stressed the difficulty of holding elections in Libya with the presence of “militias,” noting that after the completion of the military mission in Tripoli, the Libyans will be able to hold elections under the auspices of the United Nations.
Asked about military support from Russia, Tamimi said: “Russia can’t do anything before the arms embargo is lifted. After the embargo is lifted, we are going to boost our cooperation.”
The LNA has failed to breach the southern defenses of Tripoli and forces backing the internationally recognized administration have pushed back the LNA in some areas over the past few days.
