Libyan eastern-based army explains request for Russian intervention in Libya
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E-mail Xinhua, August 11, 2018
TRIPOLI, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Libya's eastern-based army, led by Gen. Khalifa Haftar, on Friday explained its request for Russian intervention to solve the country's crisis.
The Russian intervention in Libya will be requested through the UN to lift the international weapons embargo on the army, Ahmad Al-Mesmari, the army spokesman, said in a statement.
Al-Mesmari's statement came days after his interview with Russian news agency Sputnik, where the spokesman called for a greater diplomatic Russian role in the Libyan crisis.
"The Libyan problem also needs engagement from Russia and President Putin himself, to remove other external actors, for example, Turkey, Qatar, and especially Italy from Libya," Al-Mesmari told Sputnik on Wednesday.
His comments sparked backlash from some Libyan political parties, some of which considered them an explicit request for military intervention in Libya.
Despite a UN-sponsored political agreement signed in December 2015, Libya remains politically divided between rival governments in the east and west of the country, both competing for legitimacy. Enditem
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