Forty-eight members of the Libyan House of Representatives (HoR) rejected a statement by the top Russian diplomat that claims Moscow's intervention in the country came at the request of the parliament.

The lawmakers released a statement in response to comments by Sergey Lavrov during a news conference Saturday in New York in which he noted that "the presence of foreign forces in eastern Libya was made at the request of the Libyan House of Representatives."

The deputies said in the statement that they "categorically deny what was said in his statements and that we did not ask, as (lawmakers), the intervention of the Russians, nor did we ask for the assistance of any foreign forces, neither directly nor indirectly."

"We did not discuss this under the dome of Parliament, and we did not vote on it," the statement added.

The deputies demanded "all foreign forces to leave Libyan territory immediately and unconditionally," according to the statement.

The official number of deputies in parliament is 200, but some of them have died or resigned, while around 130 deputies attend the sessions.

Libya is suffering from the repercussions of an armed conflict that has lasted for years. With the support of Arab and Western countries, mercenaries and foreign fighters, the militia of putschist General Khalifa Haftar fought the former internationally recognized Government of National Accord.

Russia has been one of the biggest supporters of the putschist Haftar along with France, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who also backed Haftar’s offensive on the capital Tripoli in 2019.

The Wagner Group has been instrumental in assisting Russia to achieve its military goals in Ukraine, Sudan, Syria and Libya.

Formed back in 2014 in Ukraine and owned by businessperson Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner Group is intensely involved in several conflicts.

Although Russia officially does not acknowledge any cooperation with the Wagner Group, the reports from the field prove otherwise.

The United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) on July 24, 2020, accused Russia of "playing an unhelpful role in Libya by delivering supplies and equipment to the Wagner group."

The Wagner Group has 2,000 personnel in Libya, according to the command. Currently, the group has bases in the cities of Sirte and Jufra.