RUSSIA has recognised the counter-revolutionary Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) as the only legitimate power in the country, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.
Ahead of the imperialists’ cynically titled ‘friends of Libya’ gathering in Paris, Russia hailed the NTC’s ‘course on reforms, including the establishing of a new constitution, carrying out nationwide elections and forming a new government’.
Russia’s envoy to Africa, Mikhail Margelov, who headed the Russian delegation at the Paris talks, said the ‘new Libyan government’ vowed that all the Russian-Libyan contracts that had been signed under the Gadaffi government would remain operational and be strictly adhered to.
Russia has been in close contact with the Benghazi ‘opposition’ during the six months of the Libyan conflict, Margelov said, adding that it was Russia’s position to stop bloodshed and call on political dialogue.
The Russian media noted that the French daily ‘Liberation’ said it has a letter from the NTC, dated April 3rd, to the Emir of Qatar about a deal ‘to assign 35 per cent of crude oil to France in exchange for its total and permanent support of our Council’.
• China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said yesterday: ‘China attaches great importance to the important position and role of the National Transitional Council in resolving the Libya issue. China is ready to maintain close contact with it (the NTC) and steadily advance China-Libya relations.’
Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Zhai Jun attended the Paris summit as an observer.
