Russia is coordinating with the Libyan authorities the details of the opening of a consulate general in Benghazi, Alexander Kinshchak, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Sputnik.
He recalled that after a long hiatus, the Russian embassy in Tripoli reopened in 2023, and the next step is to open a consulate general in Benghazi.
"The process of reaching an agreement with the Libyan side on the establishment of a new Russian consular office in the east of the country has not yet been completed. It is necessary to qualitatively work out all practical issues of ensuring its normal functioning, including logistics and security, which is quite difficult in the current Libyan realities," the diplomat said.
He noted that Libya remains effectively divided, with the western-based unity government of Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh opposed by the eastern-based cabinet formed by the House of Representatives, led by Osama Hammad and backed by Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army.
"Obviously, this state of affairs creates certain difficulties both for the normal work of diplomatic missions in this country and for the establishment of new representative offices. We continue our efforts," the Russian diplomat added.
Earlier, Russian Ambassador to Libya Aydar Aganin told Sputnik that the opening of the Russian Consulate General in Benghazi had been postponed and that the Russian Embassy in Libya was working to convince the authorities in Tripoli of its importance.
In summer 2023, the Russian embassy fully restored its operation in Tripoli.