Russian, Turkish diplomats to hold Libya talks in Moscow
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov during a conference in Munich, February 17, 2020. (AA Photo)


Russian and Turkish diplomats will hold the third round of consultations on Libya in Moscow soon, a Russian official said Thursday.

Speaking at a news conference in Moscow, Alexey Zaytsev, deputy spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said the delegations from the two countries will discuss "different aspects of the Libyan crisis," including disposition of the warring sides at the moment of the cease-fire declaration.

Zaytsev recalled that the previous rounds of consultations on Libya were held in Turkey – in Istanbul in June and in Ankara in July.

In reply to a question on the Russian violations of the arms embargo on Libya, he said "allegations are groundless" and that countries accusing Russia are "directly involved in arms supplies to the Libyan warring sides."

Libya has been torn by civil war since the ouster of late ruler Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. Libya's new government was founded in 2015 under a U.N.-led agreement, but efforts for a long-term political settlement failed due to the military offensive by warlord Khalifa Haftar's forces.