Sovereignty of Libya should be preserved - BRICS Declaration

UFA, July 9. /TASS/. The preservation of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Libya is extremely important, it is necessary to overcome differences between the country’s political forces for reaching an agreement as soon as possible on the formation of a national unity government, leaders of the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) said on Thursday in a Declaration on the results of their summit in Ufa, capital of Russia’s Bashkortostan republic. "We express serious concern about the escalation of the armed conflict in Libya, highlighting its extremely negative consequences for the Middle East, North Africa and the Sahel region. We note that the military intervention in this country in 2011 led to the breakdown of integrated state institutions, effective army and law-enforcement bodies, which in turn contributed to the rise of activities of terrorist and extremist groups. We underline the urgency to safeguard the sovereignty of the country and its territorial integrity, and we reaffirm the need to overcome the dissensions between Libyan political forces and to achieve an agreement on the formation of a National Unity Government as soon as possible," the document says. BRICS members expressed support "for the efforts to foster the inter-Libyan dialogue by the UN Secretary-General and his Special Representative for Libya Bernardino Leon, by the neighbouring countries and by the African Union." Read more