"This is surprising. There are decisions of the summit in Berlin, and, most importantly, the UN Security Council's Resolution 2510, which should first of all be implemented by Libyans themselves, with support from the international community and the UN secretary-general," the Russian Foreign Ministry source said.
"We favor continuation of the inclusive intra-Libyan dialogue as part of the political process, there is no military solution to the conflict," the source continued, adding that Moscow maintains contact with all the parties to the Libyan conflict, including Haftar.
Libyan National Army (LNA) commander, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, announced on Monday the LNA's withdrawal from the 2015 Skhirat agreement, which had led to the formation of the United Nations-backed Government of National Accord. He also said that the LNA was now taking control over the country.
Libya is split between two rival factions that have been battling for years for the control of the North African country: Haftar is the commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA), which controls the east of the country, while the Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez Sarraj is in control of Libya's west.
The Libyan Political Agreement on the settlement of the internal conflict was signed in Morocco’s Skhirat, under the auspices of the United Nations on 17 December 2015. The main point of the document, which took 14 months to coordinate, dealt with the formation of an interim Government of National Accord, which was meant to operate during a transitional two-year period. New parliamentary elections were also promised in the deal, but they never came to pass.
Once one of the most stable countries in Africa, Libya turned into a failed state in 2011, after militants backed by NATO airstrikes toppled and executed longtime Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The Mediterranean nation has since turned into a haven for militants, terrorist groups and human smugglers facilitating illegal entry of people from across Africa into Europe.
