Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu has said his country is looking forward to resuming military cooperation with Libya on a large scale.

His remarks came in a meeting with Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who arrived for talks in Moscow on Thursday.

A statement by the Russian Defence Ministry on Friday said that Shoygu highlighted during the meeting "Russia's efforts" in achieving a political settlement and a ceasefire in Libya.

"I am confident that the Libyan people, friendly to Russia, will overcome the long-standing crisis that has arisen as a result of gross external interference," Shoygu said, emphasizing that from the very beginning of the conflict, Moscow has made serious efforts for its political settlement and cessation of hostilities.

The Russian Defence Minister considered Dbeibah's visit to Moscow a step towards restoring full — scale cooperation between the military administrations in Russia and Libya. "Today's negotiations will give a serious impetus to the development of mutually beneficial cooperation," he added.

For his part, Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah expressed his government's desire to open a new page with Russia within the framework of mutual respect and to create a new economic climate in which Russia will be present as a partner.

Prime Minister Dbeibah arrived in Moscow on Thursday, accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Najla Al-Manqoush and Minister of Oil Muhammad Aoun, where he held meetings with several Russian officials, the most important of whom was Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.