Moscow wants Libya’s warring sides to agree on a ceasefire, hold talks, and engage in a proper political process to resolve the country’s problems, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
Putin, who was speaking at a press conference in Rome after holding talks with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, added he was worried that militants were flowing into Libya from Syria’s Idlib province, warning that the Libyan situation was deteriorating.
“We want to tackle this problem. We believe that it is important to talk to everyone. We also think it is necessary to stop the bloodshed as soon as possible. It is necessary to start dialogue as soon as possible,” he stated.
For his part, Conte emphasized that Libya is a strategic neighbor for his country, and that he called for supporting political talks among Libyans during the G20 meeting last week.
The two leaders shared views on the current situation in the North African country and agreed to work together to resolve the Libyan crisis.
“We need to work with our EU friends to maintain dialogue with all parties in Libya in order to help the Libyan people restore the functioning of their institutes,” Putin said.
The Russian president also blamed NATO for the destruction of Libya, saying the result was chaos. “Do you remember who destroyed Libya? It was a NATO decision. It was European aircraft that bombed Libya. What we see is chaos and fighting between various armed groups. I do not think that Russia needs to be the main contributor to a resolution of the conflict. Let’s ask those who created the problem,” he said.
Tensions flared up in Libya in early April. Back then, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army, launched an offensive to take the capital, Tripoli, from the forces loyal to the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA).
Thousands of people were displaced fleeing from the fighting in Tripoli, deepening the miserable humanitarian situation in the country.
