By Sami Zaptia.
Tripoli, 2 March 2013:
An important insight into the politics and foreign policy outlook of Ali Zeidan and his government . . .[restrict]was revealed during Thursday’s press conference.
Referring to the recent meetings with Russian officials, Interior Minister Ashur Shuwail was asked if Libya would cooperate with Russia rather than those friendly states that helped Libya during the Revolution?
Shuwail, standing next to his Prime Minister at the press conference, kept his answer relevant to his position and short. “We meet all ambassadors and they all put forward their nation’s services or capabilities. There has been no agreement with anyone”, Shuwail stressed, before giving way to his Prime Minister.
Zeidan, on the other hand, showing some cold realpolitic, expanded more in his reply to the question.
“Russia is an important state. We have many arms from Russia. It is true that some did not stand with us during the Revolution. Politics knows no emotion. It deals with interest and based on our national interest we will conduct our dealings.”
“I met with the Russians and said that history is history. We will not forget, but we will seek to deal where our interest lies. We talked about the projects”.
“I will visit Russia soon. My government has nominated an ambassador to Russia and we hope that the GNC approves it. Mahmoud Jibril (former prime minister during the Revolution) has met with them recently. We seek to renovate our arms and equipment from Russia and the Ukraine”.
“I will also visit India, and China. We will talk to many other states such as South Korea, Brazil, South Africa, and African states including Uganda”.
“Those who dealt with the former regime, we cannot cut them off. We must follow our national interest”, Prime Minister Ali Zeidan concluded. [/restrict]
