Lavrov, Libyan National Army Head to Hold Talks Monday - Russian Contact Group

Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the Libyan National Army, is supposed to arrive in Moscow later on Saturday, and hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday, head of the Russian contact group on intra-Libyan settlement Lev Dengov told Sputnik.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The information about Haftar’s other possible meetings, including the one with representatives of the Russian Defense Ministry, is yet to be confirmed, Dengov added.

"He is arriving today. His plane is delayed… Only the Monday meeting with [Russian Foreign] Minister [Lavrov] has been confirmed so far," Lev Dengov said.

Previously Dengov had said that Russia wanted to renew infrastructure and energy contracts it signed with Libya under deposed leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Dengov, who is an aide of the Chechen Republic's governor in southern Russia, could not say whether these would be oil-for-goods swap arrangements, the like of which Moscow signed with Iran earlier this year.

Libya has been in a state of civil war since its longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011. The UN-backed Government of National Accord operates in the country's west and is headquartered in Tripoli. The eastern part of the country is governed by its parliament, with is headquartered in the city of Tobruk. The parliament is backed by the Libyan National Army headed by Khalifa Haftar.