Russia-Libya, restoration of diplomatic relations

The new Russian ambassador to Tripoli, Aidar Aganin, presented his credentials to the head of the country's presidential council, Mohammed al-Memphis."The diplomatic presence in this country has been fully restored. We will now work to strengthen our traditionally friendly relations," said the Russian diplomat.The Russian embassy was forced to leave Libya in the summer of 2014, after the outbreak of an acute phase of clashes in the country. All this time, the diplomatic mission worked from Tunisia.

"Now the security situation has improved a lot. You see, there are no military actions, the country has actually moved to a stage of peaceful development, disagreements between Libyan politicians are resolved through dialogue," Aganin said.The ambassador added that an advanced group of Russian diplomats has been operating in Tripoli since September 2022 and is preparing for the resumption of work at the embassy.Aganin was appointed ambassador to Libya in late December last year by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

After the overthrow and assassination of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya ceased to function as a single state. In recent years there has been a clash between the authorities in Tripoli, in the west of the country, and the authorities in the east, supported by the Libyan National Army, under the command of Marshal Khalifa Haftar. In 2021, the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum in Geneva, under the auspices of the United Nations, elected a transitional executive ahead of general elections, which have yet to be held.Now in Libya there are two governments that do not recognize each other. The first, supported by the UN and led by Abdelhamid Dbeiba, is based in Tripoli. The second, vested with the powers of the House of Representatives, is based in Sirte. After the departure of Fathi Bashagi, it is temporarily headed by Osama Hamad.