Libyan Leader Meets Top Russian Officials, Speaks with Putin

MOSCOW (AP) — The head of Libya’s interim government has met in Moscow with Russia’s prime minister and security council head, and spoke by telephone with President Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin said Putin told Libyan premier Abdul Hamid Dbeibah in Thursday’s conversation that Russia will “continue to promote the inter-Libyan political process in order to achieve long-term stability in Libya, strengthen its sovereignty and unity, and ensure progressive socioeconomic development.”

In March Dbeibah became prime minister of an interim government that aims to lead the country through elections scheduled for December. The government’s appointment has revived hopes for stability in oil-rich Libya, which plunged into chaos a decade ago when a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 toppled longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi.

Russian news agencies said Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin discussed investment possibilities with Dbeibah. The Libyan leader and security council head Nikolai Patrushev discussed joint efforts against terrorism.