“Access To Oil Is Vital”: Pompeo Urges Libyans To Boot Out Russian ‘Interference’

Via AlMasdarNews.com,

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on all Libyan parties to return to the dialogue table and unite their efforts to prevent any other country, primarily Russia, from interfering in their country.

Pompeo said during a press briefing held on Wednesday: “The time has come for all Libyans from all sides to act so that Russia or any other country cannot intervene and violate Libya’s sovereignty to achieve its gains.”

He praised the decision of the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA), led by Fayez al-Sarraj, and the Libyan National Army, led by Khalifa Haftar, to resume ceasefire negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations, considering it “a very good and positive first step.”

He stressed the need “to start urgent negotiations in good faith in order to ceasefire and to re-launch Libyan negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations.”

Pompeo said that “putting Libya on the path to economic recovery requires maintaining oil installations and ensuring strong access [of recognized authorities] to the National Oil Corporation.”

This as CNBC reported Wednesday:

Libya’s National Oil Corporation has declared force majeure on exports from its largest oil field Tuesday, after a militia group shut it down just days after it resumed production following a six-month blockade.

“The armed group, which came from Sebha, stormed the Sharara oil field and pulled their guns on civilian unarmed workers, coercing them to stop production at the field at dawn,” the state oil company said in a statement.

Workers at the massive Sharara oil field have shut it down at the demands of the armed group’s leader Mohamed Khalifa, who is linked to the renegade general Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army, the instigator of a violent power struggle with Libya’s UN-recognized government that’s lasted more than a year. Haftar’s forces pulled back in May after a prolonged campaign to capture the capital Tripoli failed. 

Libya’s National Oil Corp declares force majeure on largest oil field after shutdown by militia https://t.co/xnT0Nalz2y

— CNBC (@CNBC) June 10, 2020

Russia and the United States alike recently welcomed Egyptian efforts to settle the conflict in Libya, especially the “Cairo Declaration” recently put forward by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Moscow has rejected the accusations leveled against it by Washington of interfering in Libya’s affairs, and has expressed interest in settling the Libyan conflict.