Russian FM calls for early ceasefire in Libya at meeting with GNA officials

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for an early cessation of hostilities at a meeting with Ahmed Maiteeq, deputy prime minister of Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA), and Mohamed Siala, foreign minister of the GNA, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

"The two sides exchanged views on the developments in Libya during a thorough conversation. The Russian side emphasized the importance of an early cessation of hostilities and establishment of an inclusive dialogue with all leading Libyan political forces and social movements," it said in a statement.

"They also discussed the tasks to consolidate international efforts in support of the Libyan settlement under the UN auspices, based on the decisions of the international conference on Libya held in Berlin on January 19 and Resolution 2510 of the UN Security Council," it said.

In this context, they emphasized the particular timeliness of appointing a new special representative of the UN Secretary-General to Libya instead of Ghassan Salame who resigned on March 1, it added.

Since the ouster and killing of Libya's former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the North African country has been locked in a civil war that escalated in 2014, splitting power between two rival governments: the UN-backed GNA based in the capital Tripoli and a government in the northeastern city of Tobruk which is allied with the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army led by Khalifa Haftar.

(CGTN)