We turned to the sixth FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov with a request to comment on the situation.
- Kirsan Nikolayevich, you know first-hand about the situation in Libya. You were well acquainted with the former leader of the country, Muammar Gaddafi, and knew his sons.
- Yes, I have repeatedly visited Libya and maintained friendly relations with Muammar Gaddafi. My point of view on Libya is well known. This country was deliberately driven into a dead end, and now no one can tell how to get out of it. What happened to Libya and its people is a vivid example of how the United States carries democracy on the wings of bombers. I have talked about this many times. The tragedy of Libya is the world tragedy of our age.
In November of this year, an international conference on resolving the conflict in Libya ended in Palermo. Our delegation was represented by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. In his speech, he made it clear that the crisis in Libya broke out with the help of the EU and the USA, and said that the top priority in Libya was to “promptly consolidate security forces”. Achieving this goal will open the way for presidential and parliamentary elections in Libya.
- Well, who will Russia support in the future elections?
- I do not know. But I think that Saif Al-Islam, of course, has a chance to win. The people of Libya now warmly recall the years of his father’s rule. They have something to compare now. I do not know Saif al-Islam so well; I talked more with his elder brother Mohammed. But I am sure that all the sons of Gaddafi received a good upbringing.
- Can we say that Saif Al-Islam is offended by the European leaders who had been assisted by his father?
- Many of these leaders are gone. But I think that he does not understand how it could happen what happened to Libya. In 2003, Muammar Gaddafi yielded to the request of the West. He suspended almost all military programmes, but the West, in its turn, effected hostile takeover of the country. The country's leader was killed and the country was destroyed. Now everyone hopes for the parliamentary and presidential elections to be held next spring. However, if a minimal national consensus is not reached, elections can destabilize the situation even more.
27.12.2018
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov: I heard that Gaddafi’s son wrote a letter to Putin asking for political support
As reported by Bloomberg, the former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin through his representative in early December. In this letter, the son of the former leader of Libya "explained his political vision" for Libya and asked for "political support."
According to Bloomberg, Saif al-Islam could take part in the national elections that the United Nations wants to hold in 2019. According to a Bloomberg source, Russia has not yet decided whether it will support any particular candidate in the elections in Libya.
