Participants Of Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum Agree To Continue Efforts On Libya - Lavrov

Participants of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum agreed on Tuesday to continue their efforts aimed at normalizing situation in Libya, Russian Foreign Ministry Sergey Lavrov said

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th April, 2019) Participants of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum agreed on Tuesday to continue their efforts aimed at normalizing situation in Libya, Russian Foreign Ministry Sergey Lavrov said.

"We agreed to further work in the interests of the Libyan settlement. We are supporting the efforts of UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya [Ghassan] Salame on implementation of the roadmap developed by him to normalize the situation in Libya. We have common goals: to help Libyans settle the existing differences and reach sustained agreements on national reconciliation," Lavrov said.

The minister pointed out that Russia was working with all political forces in Libya.

For years, Libya has been split between the two governments: the eastern part of the country is controlled by the parliament elected in 2014 and backed by the Libyan National Army (LNA) that is headed by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, while the UN-backed Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) governs Libya's western parts.

Earlier in April, Haftar ordered an offensive to retake Tripoli from the GNA-backed forces. The LNA has already recaptured a number of settlements on its way to the capital, including the Tripoli International Airport, located around 20 miles away from the capital. The forces loyal to the GNA announced a counteroffensive, dubbed Volcano of Rage, to repel the National Army.