MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russia is prepared to renew military technical cooperation with Libya if the UN Security Council allows it, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said Thursday.
Earlier, Libyan authorities expressed hope to continue cooperation with Russia in military training and the purchase of modern weaponry, a 40-year history of collaboration.
“We are of course ready for cooperation, but know that there must be an overall understanding in the [UN] Security Council for this,” Bogdanov told journalists.
14 April 2015, 07:22 GMT
Libya is currently subject to a UN arms supply embargo, imposed in 2011 over violence against civilians by the country's former leadership.
On April 14, Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah Thinni told Sputnik that Libya plans to ask Russia to help rebuild its military, implementing a number of 2008-era contracts signed between the Gaddafi regime and Russia.
Long-standing leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011 amid anti-government protests, and government forces continue fending off different militias.