Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov meets Libyan counterpart in Moscow

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Libyan counterpart Mohamed Taha Siala on Wednesday held talks in Moscow.Speaking to reporters, Lavrov called on Libya's two rival governments to continue dialogue to end the country's conflict.

Taha Siala said while he respected the work of the UN in trying to mediate the conflict, "we should assume that they, as Libyan people do, have to face the split in the (United Nations) Security Council."

In October, the rival sides in Libya's conflict signed a permanent cease-fire, a deal the UN billed as historic after years of fighting that has split the North African country in two.

On Saturday officials said Libya's rival leaders had kicked off a UN-brokered prisoner exchange, which was part of the preliminary cease-fire agreement.

The exchange of a first batch of prisoners, supervised by a joint military committee, took place Friday in the southwestern village of al-Shwayrif, according to the U.N. Support Mission in Libya, or UNSMIL.

Libya is split between a U.N.-supported government in the capital, Tripoli, and rival authorities based in country's east. The two sides are backed by an array of local militias as well as regional and foreign powers.

The oil-rich country was plunged into chaos after the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

(IMAGE CREDITS:AP)