Libyan acting Foreign Minister of the Government of National Unity (GNU), Al-Taher Al-Baour, said on Sunday that the government had no objection or reservation to working with Russia, indicating that the GUN also does not mind the opening of the Russian consulate in Benghazi, but in accordance with diplomatic norms and protocols.
Al-Baour added in an interview with the Russian “Sputnik” news agency that any work must go through diplomatic paths: the government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs located in Tripoli.
“We spoke with the ambassador Aidar Aghanen and told him that we are not opposed to opening the consulate in Benghazi, but it is the custom and diplomatic protocol that the embassy in Tripoli is opened first and then we move on to the branches: the general consulates.” He explained.
Regarding the readiness of the GNU in Tripoli to secure the Russian embassy, Al-Baour responded by saying: “Certainly we are prepared to secure it. We secure all the existing embassies, and we allowed the embassies to provide additional security by contracting with private security companies, but the security companies must be licensed to operate in Libya.”
Last February, the Russian Ambassador to Libya announced the postponement of the opening of the Russian Consulate General in Benghazi “for reasons that were not fully explained,” indicating that consultations with the authorities in Tripoli were continuing.
In statements to the Russian Sputnik news agency, the ambassador said the opening of the Russian Consulate General in Benghazi was not simple. He explained that the authorities in Tripoli were not yet ready to acknowledge that the Russian diplomatic presence in the east met the interests of the entire Libyan people.
