Russian Foreign Ministry: absence of head of UN mission in Libya weakens role of international mediation in resolving the crisis.

Moscow, 2 February 2022 (Lana) The absence of a head of the UN mission in Libya weakens the role of international mediation in resolving the crisis in the country, the Russian Foreign Ministry said, calling for a speedy appointment of a UN special envoy to Libya.

This came in a statement issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry commenting on the UN Security Council's extension on Monday of the mandate of the UN political mission to Libya for three months.

 The statement said that ‘Moscow consistently highlights importance of the role of the United Nations, specifically its mission in Libya, but believes that the continuation of the work of the United Nations mission in the absence of a president agreed among all members of the UN Security Council at this responsible stage of the Libyan settlement weakens the mediation capabilities, and reputation and effectiveness of its efforts.

The Ministry also noted that Moscow was ready to continue to seek acceptable solutions to all of the remaining issues related to the leadership of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, in order to ensure that it operates in an integrated manner in accordance with its mandate established by virtue of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

 The Russian Foreign Ministry added that Moscow expected the Secretary-General of the United Nations to present, as soon as possible, a worthy candidate to head the mission. In its statement, the Ministry reiterated that Russia sees no alternative to resolving the Libyan crisis peacefully, hoping that progress on the path to a sustainable political settlement can only be achieved provided that it guarantees its comprehensive nature, which requires the participation of all the influential forces in the country.

=Lana=