Statement by Deputy Permanent Representative Vladimir Safronkov at the UN Security Council Meeting on Libya
Mr. President,
We thank the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Ghassan Salame and the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, Mr. Smaїl Chergui for detailed briefings. Mr. Salame, we support your efforts and will extend to you our lasting assistance. Mr. Chergui, Russia has always supported the pivotal role of the African Union in settlement of crises on the continent, i.a. in Libya. We thank the delegation of Germany for the leadership in the Sanctions Committee, given an uneasy stage of the Libyan settlement that befell your chairmanship.
It is with regret that we have to say that escalation in Greater Tripoli and in entire Libya does not subside. Russia, just like other members of the international community, is very concerned about it.
The bitter truth is that Libya, which used to be a stable and prosperous State in North Africa, has in fact delved into chaos of lawlessness and remained split for many years by now. The country has become a migration hub. The area of present-day Libya is a source of destabilizing spurs – this is the result of geopolitical engineering and a “regime change” policy that some countries decided to implement back in 2011.
We speak about it because we believe the situation in the country should be a constant reminder of a failure of a concept of external armed intervention that lead to dismantling of state institutions and emergence of shattered states
One should learn from their mistakes. Attempts to blame one of the actors for everything will only lead to a deeper confrontation and will impede prospects to resume political process. We are sure Mr. Salame is guided by this very approach.
We should not stop humanitarian assistance to those Libyans who are in need of help. Access of humanitarian personnel to them should be non-selective and unimpeded.
Russia did and does appeal to all military and political forces in Libya and influential Libyan stakeholders calling them to stop the military action, abstain from any aggressive rhetoric and sit down at the negotiation table in order to gradually restore the undermined trust.
In order to achieve this one should abandon sectarian interests and focus on the principle “Libya and its people in the first place”, which can be implemented once there are no plans to interfere in the internal affairs of Libya and once everyone realizes that Libya’s mineral resources belong solely to its people.
There is no alternative to political settlement. Forceful methods of power race should be rejected. All the relevant forces in Libya should consolidate efforts in order to promptly restore national institutions capable of tackling priority tasks in an efficient way, above all – institutions capable of countering terrorism. Unfortunately, this threat remains relevant for Libya.
The main task on the agenda is to build common robust state institutions, including army and security forces. Libyans are the ones to make decisions on that. We will inevitably reject any counter-productive attempts to impose any external parameters on this process.
We coordinate our efforts with international and regional partners both bilaterally and multilaterally. The situation in Libya was on the agenda of the Arab-Russian Cooperation Forum in Moscow, where we achieved an agreement to work jointly in the interests of Libyan settlement. This topic is also under unshifting focus of our daily contacts with representatives of the African Union. We have a shared task – help Libyans overcome the existing contradictions and come up with sustainable agreements about national reconciliation.
Steps on this track have already been taken in Paris, Palermo, Abu Dhabi. However, the obligations that were adopted remained on paper. The regionals play an important role in encouraging Libyans to stop bloodshed and resume negotiations. We take notice of active leadership of the African Union as it works to boost inter-Libyan settlement i.a. in the framework of the relevant conference to be held in Addis-Ababa.
We are convinced that international efforts to bring peace and unity back to Libya should be harmonized. We stress once again: political settlement should not be an issue of competition.
Today much has been said about the pivotal role of Special Representative Salame in building the harmonized system to search for a sustainable solution to the Libyan conflict. However, all of us should remember – in order to be accomplishable, the UN mission should rest upon consolidated support of all regional stakeholders and all Libyan political forces. We need an all-encompassing approach. Attempts to address the situation selectively will not work. Attempts to employ principle “"what is permitted to one is not permitted to everyone" are also futile. All stakeholders without exception should observe the arms embargo.
Mr. President,
Russia and Libya are bound by profound historical ties. Our inter-State relations have always been characterized by mutual respect. That is why throughout the Libyan crisis we have managed to maintain contacts with all political forces. Russia will be working to restore stability in Libya, i.a. by supporting your efforts, Mr. Salame. Thereby we will be guided by the UN Charter, the principle of Libya’s independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty. We call upon everyone to base on these fundamentals.
Thank you.
