Rome. June 29. INTERFAX-The countries related to the situation in Libya are convinced that one of the conditions for stabilizing the situation there should be the withdrawal of any foreign forces from Libya, including those belonging to the Russian Federation and Turkey, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told the Repubblica publication.
"I think you will see how countries with regular and irregular troops in Libya, including Russia and Turkey, will have to respond to this powerful international consensus. We talked about this directly with Russia and Turkey, " Blinken said.
The US Secretary of State recalled that such a demand was voiced earlier at the UN, and then it was confirmed by the participating countries of the recent Berlin conference on Libya. He also pointed out that another subject of consensus of the parties is the need to hold elections of the president and parliament of Libya on December 24 this year.
Blinken noted that, as he expects, the withdrawal of foreign forces from Libya is inevitable, but this process will not be instantaneous, but will take some time.
For a long time, two executive bodies existed in parallel in Libya: the Government of National Accord, which met in Tripoli, and the interim cabinet, which operated in the east of the country, supported by the Libyan National Army.
The parties to the Libyan conflict actively resorted to the help of foreign forces. In particular, as reported, the Libyan National Army of Khalifa Haftar was assisted by mercenaries from the Wagner PMCs. Turkey also sent military advisers to help the Government of National Accord (PNS) of Libya, which opposed Haftar. There was also information about the transfer of mercenaries from Syria to Libya on the initiative of Ankara.
During the prolonged armed conflict, neither Haftar nor the NTC were able to win. As a result, there has been a movement towards a political settlement in Libya.
