Russia said it supports a political role for the son of deposed Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi, who’s bidding to take over the leadership of the oil-rich North African state.

“Our position is that no one should be isolated and excluded from a constructive political role,” Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told state-run news service RIA Novosti on Monday. Qaddafi’s son “Saif al-Islam has the backing of specific tribes in Libya and all this should be part of the overall political process,” he said.

Moscow is open to Saif al-Islam’s political participation, Bloomberg reported last week, after he sent a representative to ask for Russian support earlier this month. Russia last year switched its strategy in Libya away from solely backing Khalifa Haftar, a military strongman who controls most of the oil-producing east, to opening dialogue with all rival power centers in the fractured country.