Russia supports withdrawal of foreign fighters from Libya

Russia’s top diplomat has assured his Libyan counterpart that Moscow supports the withdrawal of all foreign fighters from the North African country and is prepared to help work out the details with other countries

MOSCOW -- Russia's top diplomat assured his Libyan counterpart Thursday that Moscow supports the withdrawal of all foreign fighters from the North African country and is prepared to help work out the details with other countries. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after the talks in Moscow with Najla Mangoush that the Libyan leadership “is forming a consultative mechanism ... to formulate the concrete parameters” under which the foreign forces will leave. Russia was among the foreign powers backing the warring sides in Libya’s conflict, with some officials and media reports alleging that Russian private military contractors took part in the fighting. "We will be prepared to constructively take part in this work alongside other countries,” Lavrov told a press conference.