Statement by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia at an open VTC of UN Security Council members on the situation in Libya
Mr. President,
We thank Stephanie Williams for the information on the situation in Libya that she shared. We appreciate her personal contribution to the Libyan settlement, and wish to her every success in all future endeavors.
Russia continuously stands for peaceful settlement of the Libyan crisis by political and diplomatic means. This year we mark a sad anniversary – 10 years since the devastating Western aggression against Libya, and today for the first time in those 10 years Libyans have a real chance to achieve the long-sought peace.
We are convinced that all international stakeholders who can influence different forces in Libya should encourage them to interact in a constructive manner in order to look for compromise solutions to the existing problems. This is the approach we were guided by when in November 2020 in Moscow we first received the visit of President of the Libyan House of Representatives A.Saleh, and then in December same year – of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Government of National Accord M.Siala. We reiterated our position that settlement process should be Libya-owned and Libya-led, and our high-ranking guests fully supported this. This regards political, military, economic, and other tracks.
We welcome the fact that armed confrontation has transferred to the domain of negotiations. However, the situation remains fragile. Implementation of ceasefire agreement for Libya that was signed on 23 October 2020 in Geneva in the framework of the 5+5 Joint Military Committee is faltering. We call on all Libyan sides to act in a reserved manner and uphold the obligations they assumed.
In the interests of promoting dialogue, the military continue discussions of mutual confidence-building measures, i.a. in the civil area. We welcome steps taken to enable air and road traffic between various regions of the country. These decisions will help normalize the life of ordinary citizens, provide humanitarian assistance.
We closely monitor the progress of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF). We would like to underscore once again that steps at all tracks should not just be formally agreed, supported and endorsed by the Libyan sides, but they should also abide by the principle of inclusiveness. Only this principle can ensure sustainability and effectiveness of the peace process. It is from this viewpoint that we will assess the outcomes of the work of LPDF and 5+5 Commission.
When put on paper, preliminary solutions might look impressive. But the most important thing is to smoothly incorporate the elaborated plans in the complicated Libyan realities. Taking into account the leading role of the United Nations in international efforts promoting the Libyan settlement, we welcome the appointment of Ján Kubiš as the new Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Libya. We wish to him every success in the new office, where all of his vast diplomatic experience will need to be put to use. We believe that rather than chasing some formal target indicators, his central task will be to spread the spirit of trust among the wide range of Libyan political forces, because some of them, including participants of the LPDF, are being very critical about the current state of affairs.
Dialogue aimed at ensuring stability of the oil sector constitutes an important element of stabilization, given the understanding that Libya’s natural resources belong to all citizens of this country. The area of finance and economy also needs regulation, but again all actions should proceed from the understanding that all financial resources, including those on the “frozen” accounts, belong to Libyans. In this context, we are concerned over reported facts of Western, in particular European companies making profits from the Libyan assets that they should be safekeeping.
Thank you.
