Statement by representative of the Russian Federation Mr.Dmitry Tretiakov at UNSC briefing on Libya
Mme.President,
We thank Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, as well as Permanent Representative of Japan, Ambassador Kazuyuki Yamazaki, for their briefings.
We must say that, against the continuing duality of power in Libya, prospects for a sustainable settlement are not visible yet. The internal political stagnation leads to the degradation of security, the general erosion of order and growing public discontent.
These negative trends dictate an urgent need to redouble efforts to find a solution based on the well-known principle – a Libyan-led and Libyan-owned process under the auspices of the United Nations without imposing artificial frameworks and external recipes, with the participation of representatives of all political and tribal associations in the country, including representatives of the former authorities. It is crucial to focus on supporting them in this endeavor, but not to make decisions for them.
Undoubtedly, an important task for all interested international and regional players at this stage is to support the work of UNSMIL - the main UN instrument aimed at launching an inclusive dialogue in Libya, which should ultimately result in the formation of a unified Government capable of holding presidential and parliamentary elections throughout the country and maintaining necessary security conditions for that. As a matter of principle, we reiterate our support for SRSG Bathily's efforts in that regard. We believe that holding simultaneous parliamentary and presidential elections would be preferable from the point of view of preserving a stable situation in the former Jamahiriya.
Mme.President,
At the same time, it would seem unwise to completely disregard the initiatives of regional organizations and countries, since, in the long run, they serve the same purpose. It is crucial to keep the progress of 6 +6 Joint Committee in developing electoral legislation. In that regard, we welcome Egypt's readiness to assist Libyan parliamentarians in finding a compromise. We hope that the Libyan House of Representatives and the High Council of State will soon agree on a common understanding of the outcome of the meeting in Buznika, Morocco.
We also appreciate the organizing of a pan-Libyan conference on national reconciliation under the auspices of the African Union. It will help to overcome mistrust among the broadest spectrum of Libyan political forces and may facilitate a consensus on many problematic issues, including those related to the preparation and convening of presidential and parliamentary elections. We are looking forward to this event.
Mme.President,
Although there have been no ceasefire violations in Libya, the situation is far from blissful. The security situation is fragile, as evidenced by the recent fighting in Tripoli and other cities and on the Libyan-Tunisian border. The fact that cells of international and regional terrorist structures strengthen their positions in the country is also alarming.
Efforts should continue to create the necessary conditions for the integration of the disparate military components into a unified Libyan army. This goal requires considerable effort and political will. Another important area is the eventual elimination of foreign military presence on the Libyan soil. We advocate a synchronized, balanced, gradual and step-by-step withdrawal of all non-Libyan armed groups and military units.
Besides, we are concerned about reported violations of the Libyan arms embargo. We emphasize the importance of the functioning of the special inspection regime on the high seas off the coast of Libya that was introduced in accordance with Security Council resolution 2292. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same about the work of the EU naval operation IRINI, whose actions have raised serious questions for several years – from geographical scope, functionality and accountability of the operation to conformity of its actions with the mandate of Security Council resolution 2292. The inspections regime is up for renewal in early June. When working on the resolution, we will proceed from our vision of IRINI’s actions in facilitating the implementation of the arms embargo.
Mme.President,
We cannot ignore the insinuations of our American colleague about the "Russian presence" on the territory of Libya. Let me put things in the right perspective for him.
Russia always took active steps to normalize the situation both within multilateral formats under UN auspices and on a bilateral basis. We opposed the 2011 NATO intervention in Libya and had nothing to do with the collapse of that country. We have maintained and continue to maintain constructive contacts with all Libyan parties, pushing them towards dialogue and the search for compromise. Speaking of elimination of foreign military presence on Libyan territory, we repeat our support for a synchronized, balanced and phased withdrawal.
We are convinced that the influx of weapons and mercenaries destabilizing the situation in Libya must stop. This practice has been going on since the beginning of the conflict in 2011, when Libyan statehood was destroyed through NATO's illegal aggression. Now, as we see, it has taken a new turn – it is Washington who is building up military presence in the former Jamahiriya, while cynically deflecting criticism on us.
In open sources, word is spreading that American private military company Amentum (formerly DynCorp) is extending activities on Libyan soil. Reportedly, its specialists are training some formations in western Libya. By the way, this structure is one of the contractors of the United States Department of Defense.
Professional training of the Libyan military is a good thing as such. But Libya still has no unified armed forces. In these circumstances, when one of Libya's parties trains armed groups in the absence of proper State control, it raises questions as to how it reconciles with the tasks of unifying the country and rebuilding its security architecture.
I would like to ask the distinguished representative of the United States to answer the following question: what specific activities is this structure engaged in on Libyan soil, on what grounds is it present there, and how does it meet Libya’s arms embargo?
Besides, one can presume that the US personnel stationed in the vicinity of Tripoli are armed. Imports of lethal weapons to Libya, even for the needs of the Government, require authorization by the 1970 Security Council sanctions committee, which, however, has received no such requests.
Thank you.
