Russia is calling on General Khalifa Haftar to get involved to take part in political dialogue in Libya. The Russian government also said it will not be supplying Haftar with weapons.
At the Mediterranean Dialogues conference held in Rome, Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov called for the inclusion of Haftar in the Libyan political dialogue.
Haftar, who also met with Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu last week, left Moscow empty handed.
Following his meeting with Haftar, Lavrov spoke with Ahmed Maetig, a member of the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA)’s Presencial Council, to discuss a more inclusive political dialogue in Libya.
During the conference in Italy, Russian representatives said that Russia has been in contact with key political players in Libya, including Prime Minister Fayez Al-Sarraj and Ageela Saleh, the speaker for the Tobruk-based parliament.
Russian representatives also stressed that Russia will only recognize the GNA if the HoR votes to support the unity government. Until then, Russia said it is willing to support the Libyan Political Agreement and the Presidential Council.