According to a statement made by the Russian Foreign Ministry, the United Nations (UN) Special Envoy to Libya Jan Kubis, Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal and Russia’s Special Representative for the Middle East and North Africa Mikhail Bogdanov met in Russia. At the meeting, where the main agenda was Libya, the parties expressed their support for the general elections scheduled to be held on December 24.
In the meeting, in which it was stated that support was given to the interim government bodies in Libya, the common approach regarding the situation in Libya was confirmed before the meeting, which is planned to be held at the ministerial level on June 23 in Berlin, the capital of Germany. In a statement made by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was stated that Önal, Bogdanov and Kubis held political consultations on Libya regarding the meeting.
Less than 7 months are left until the Libyan general elections. In this sense, it is claimed that the constructive role of two important actors such as Russia and Turkey is an important factor in the solution of the Libyan crisis. Also, UN Special Envoy Jan Kubis wants to conclude the election discussions in close diplomatic ties with different parts of Libya.
Since March 2021, the war-torn North African country has been led by the Government of National Unity (GNU), which was selected by members of the UN-backed Libyan Political Dialogue Forum. The establishment of the GNU has sidelined key figures of the 6-year civil war including Fayez Al-Sarraj, Fathi Bashagha and Khalifa Haftar.
This provisional government has been tasked to lead the country until a permanent government is selected through democratic processes, which will culminate with the 2021 parliamentary and presidential elections on December 24.
