20/7 Tass 343
MOSCOW, July 20 (Itar-Tass) —— Libyan Foreign Minister Abdul Ati al-Obeidi praised Moscow’s efforts to find a political and diplomatic solution to the crisis in his country.
He confirmed Tripoli’s readiness for constructive interaction with Russia to this end.
“Our main goal is to resolve the conflict peacefully, and all Libyan sides should be engaged in this process, not just the opposition in Benghazi,” the minister said.
At this point the sides are negotiating the African Union’s initiative. There is on goal – to stop the bloodshed in the country,” the minister said.
The Libyan authorities are “not very pleased” by Western countries’ decision to recognise the opposition Transitional National Council in Benghazi as a legitimate government, al-Obeidi said.
“We are not very pleased by such decisions of Western countries,” he said after talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday, July 20.
The minister expressed confidence that “the existing conflict in the country must be solved peacefully” and stressed that “there is no crisis in Libya in the military sense”.
He refused to discuss the question of Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi’s exit.
“This question is not to be discussed,” he said.
Lavrov stressed the need to step up efforts in order to stop the bloodshed immediately, put the confrontation in Libya on a political footing and begin negotiations on the future democratic system in the country.
The minister noted that “an important prerequisite for this would be a clear and unambiguous conformation by Tripoli of its commitment to the spirit and letter of U.N. Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973”.
Lavrov made it clear that “the leading role in finding a solution to the crisis in Libya is to be played by the United Nations and the African Union that are working on the options and conditions for a dialogue in Libya”.
“Lavrov confirmed Russia’s intention to continue all-round support to the international efforts to resolve the conflict on the basis of strict compliance with the relevant international decisions and preservation of Libya as an independent, sovereign and territorially integral state where the interests of all of its citizens would be ensured,” the Foreign Ministry said.
The meeting took place at the Libyan ministers’ request.