Moscow lauds the handover of power to the Libyan General National Congress, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported on Thursday. Moscow welcomes this event “as an important step towards implementing the provisions of the Constitutional Declaration that sets out a plan for a transitional process, which will lead to the drafting of a new constitution and the holding of legislative and presidential elections in early 2013″, the ministry said. “We hope that further movement towards creating a new government and work out the country’s constitution will go within the framework of a broad national dialogue in order to normalise the internal political situation in the country and create favourable conditions for the sustainable development of democratic, stable and prosperous Libya,” the ministry said.