Russian, Egyptian top diplomats discuss withdrawal of all foreign troops from Libya

MOSCOW, October 4./TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry discussed the withdrawal of all foreign armed forces from Libya on Monday, the top Russian diplomat told a news conference on Monday. "We touched upon the issue of the withdrawal from the country of all non-Libyan armed groups and military units. We have a clear position: these steps must be taken in stages and must be synchronized in time in order to avoid the risk of violating the existing balance of forces, owing to which a ceasefire has been maintained in Libya for already over a year," Lavrov told the news conference after the talks. The top diplomat also stressed the role of Russia and Egypt in preparations for the Libyan national elections scheduled for December 24. According to him, it was emphasized at the talks that "further work towards unified government agencies and work to re-create the unified armed forces is needed". The top diplomats also confirmed the important role of the UN Support Mission in Libya. Besides, Syria and the Palestinian-Israeli settlement were discussed at the talks with Sameh Shoukry, Lavrov said. The diplomats emphasized the "specific importance at the current stage of rendering efficient assistance to the Syrians in overcoming the aftermath of the years-long armed conflict and came out against attempts to politicize the issues of humanitarian assistance, including assistance in the early return of refugees and internally displaced persons to their homes," Lavrov went on to say. "We have a common stance as to the lack of alternative to the two-state principle in the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the generally recognized international legal basis," he told the news conference. "We work on the premise that a comprehensive settlement of all issues regarding the final status is only possible through direct negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians," he stressed. Photo by Yevgeny Biyatov/POOL/TASS Read more