"I think that the role of Russia in Libya in the recent period is active, which is aimed at renouncing violence and achieving peace, and for the restoration and activation of Libyan institutions," the deputy prime minister of the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA), Ahmed Omar Maiteeq, told Sputnik on Saturday on the sidelines of the Mediterranean Dialogues (MED 2017) forum in Rome.
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According to the deputy prime minister, Libya expects Russia to take part in the post-conflict reconstruction of the country.
"Now most of the Russian projects in Libya are frozen or out of work, but next year will see a trend towards development and reconstruction in Libya and we hope Russia will participate in that," Maiteeg said.
The official went on to say that Libya and Russia have noticeably improved their bilateral ties moving towards "greater development."
"I spoke more than once with [Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail] Bogdanov on this subject. He said the embassy would be reopened at the right time soon, and bilateral relations would be activated to the highest levels. We are waiting for this to happen and are optimistic that the coming period will [bring] breakthroughs," Maiteeg said.
On November 27, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov met with a former aide to Gaddafi, Bashir Saleh Bashir, and reiterated Moscow's readiness to contribute to the peace settlement and emphasized the importance of the establishment of a nationwide dialogue.
UN Work in Libya
In his conversation with Sputnik, Ahmed Maiteeq has also praised the work of UN Special Representative for Libya Ghassan Salame, commenting on his roadmap for the resolution of the political crisis in Libya, presented in September, with proposals including reducing the Presidency Council of the UN-backed GNA to three members and a nomination of a new government.
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"It is well known that the [Libyan] government of accordance and presidential council are the result of the political agreement and this agreement created security, military and economic stability for all the Libyans, and my personal belief that Mr. Ghassan Salame is working well and we hope that he will succeed in solving the Libyan crisis," Maiteeq said.
The Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) operates in the west of Libya and is headquartered in Tripoli, representing one of the several rival groups trying to take power in the war-torn country since the 2011 turmoil started with long-standing ruler Muammar Gaddafi's ousting.
The eastern part of the country is governed by its parliament, with its headquarters in the city of Tobruk. The parliament is backed by the Libyan National Army.
