Russia calls for inclusive character of Libya’s state-building process - diplomat

MOSCOW, May 17. /TASS/. Moscow insists that the bodies of state power in Libya should be formed on the basis of inclusiveness, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said on Tuesday. Gatilov, who took part in an international ministerial meeting on Libya in Vienna on Monday, confirmed Russia’s commitment to Libya’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said. The diplomat "stressed the importance of taking into account the principle of inclusiveness during the creation of unified bodies of state power." "Only the bodies based on broad consensus will have a due support of the population and will be able to fulfill their duties efficiently, first of all in ensuring security," he said. The ministerial meeting in Vienna was aimed at giving an impetus to the political process in Libya envisaged by the UN-brokered Libyan political agreement signed in Morocco’s Skhirat in mid-December 2015 and confirmed by the UN Security Council Resolution 2259. The sides considered measures of assisting the presidential council of Libya created in line with the agreement and its head Fayez al-Sarraj who has been tasked with setting up a government of national accord with the goal of ensuring security in the country and carrying out social and economic reforms, the ministry said. "A special focus was made on the need to counter the terrorist threat posed by the Islamic State that has strengthened in Libya," it said. Read more