3 yıl önce

Sisi calls Putin for 'political settlement' in Libya

Egypt’s President Sisi and his Russian counterpart Putin discussed developments in Libya as well as Moscow's investments in the north African country.

Reuters

According to Libyan authorities more than 7,000 Russian Wagner mercenaries are still operating in Libya.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el Sisi has called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss developments in Libya, a statement from the Egyptian presidency said.

On Saturday's phone call it was stated that Cairo and Moscow agreed to increase bilateral relations and coordination for the solution of Libya crisis and the fight against terrorist organisations, armed militias.

Egypt will pursue to resolve the disputes within Libyan parties, the statement added.

President Sisi also told his counterpart that Egypt wants to develop its relations with Russia in every field.

"Political settlement in Libya"

A separate statement released from Kremlin said both leaders touched on Libya, adding "The closeness of Russia’s and Egypt’s approaches to the political settlement in Libya was noted," the statement said.

"The leaders gave high marks to the attained level of bilateral cooperation in various spheres, including the construction of the first nuclear power plant in Egypt in El Dabaa and the creation of a Russian industrial zone in the region of the Suez Canal," Kremlin said.

It was underlined that Egypt will send a delegation to St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) that will hold in June 2022 to expand Cairo's investments and tourist potentials.

Libya elections

The electoral commission canceled elections on Wednesday that were scheduled for December 24, 2021 citing a lack of preparedness and disagreements.

Voting has been postponed until January, leaving the internationally-backed peace process in chaos and the fate of the interim government in doubt.

The statement said it was important to maintain momentum for the goal of holding “free, fair and credible elections” and to elect a representative and unified government.

The much-awaited polls were detrimental to mark the first step of the war-torn country toward political stability.

Since a NATO-led intervention in 2011 overthrew Muammar Gaddafi's regime, Libya has spiraled into chaos and civil war controlled by rebel armies and foreign fighters.

In March, an interim government was sworn in, replacing the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) controlling Tripoli and the Western region, and the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), led by warlord Khalifa Haftar.

Although Libyans were eagerly awaiting the elections that could pave the road for political transition, various political factions and presidential candidates had disputes and disagreements on the mechanisms of the electoral process and the conduct of elections.

SOURCE: TRTWorld and agencies