On 16 July, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Sergei Lavrov met with the Government of National Unity (GNU) Minister of Foregin Affairs Taher al-Baour in New York on the sidelines of the UN Security Council meetings on multilateral cooperation. Lavrov said Russia is committed to supporting national dialogue ‘which aims to preserve the territorial integrity, unity and sovereignty of the Libyan state’. The GNU said they discussed enhancing bilateral relations in a way that serves common interests, including on the Palestinian file, with a focus on ‘enhancing diverse trade cooperation in various fields’, as well as the possibility of activating joint committees.
On 19 July, Russian Ambassador Aydar Aganin met with the UAE Ambassador to Libya Muhammed alShamsi and reportedly discussed international support for the Libyan-led political process. Both sides stressed the need to accelerate the unification of the Libyan parties to get the country out of the current state of crisis and division.