"Serious threat to Europe": Russian Federation is negotiating the creation of a Navy base in Libya - Bloomberg

The defensive agreement was discussed at the highest level between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the military commander in Libya Khalifa Haftar at their meeting in Moscow at the end of September. About it writes Bloomberg with reference to anonymous sources familiar with this issue. The escalation of Russia's activity in Libya is a new challenge to the United States and their European allies who are already in confrontation with the Kremlin through its invasion of Ukraine.

The West also has fears that Russia can potentially enter the Middle Eastern conflict if the war in Israel goes beyond Gaza sector. The US Administration perceives this threat "very seriously," the former US Special Messenger in Libya Jonathan Weiner said. "Russia's maintenance from the Mediterranean was a key strategic task. The sources of the newspaper also reported that Hafar wants to teach the pilots of his Air Force and special forces.

Instead, several airbazes in the Eastern Libya, where the militarized formations of PECV "Wagner" are currently being based will be modernized for the deployment of Russian troops. According to other people who are familiar with the course of negotiations, Russian warships can also get the right to a permanent parking lot in the Libyan port, most likely in a tobuk, located only a few hundred kilometers through the Mediterranean from Greece and Italy.

However, this is a long -term perspective as it will require significant modernization of port structures. Currently, there is only one naval base in the Mediterranean-Syrian Tartus. For several years, Russia has been secretly involved in the North African oil exports through Wagner PEC. Russian mercenaries arrived in Libya during a vacuum of power and civil war, which followed by NATO's supported by Mummar Gaddafi in 2011.

The basis, made by Wagner PEC to promote the Kremlin's interests in Africa and in the Middle East, made it possible for Moscow to grow foreign military assets quickly. It is known that Russia is also looking for a naval base on the Red Sea in Sudan, which will give it constant access to the Suez Canal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Peninsula, although civil conflict in this country can interfere with these plans.

Libya is divided between the warring administrations in the western capital of Tripoli and in the east, where Haftar is ruled. The 79-year-old Hafar controls many large oil facilities in Libya, which houses about 40% of Africa's "black gold" reserves. According to sources close to Haftar, he is looking for air defense suppliers to protect his position from competing forces in Tripoli, supported by Turkey.

According to experts, a defense agreement with Russia will increase the differences between Libya East and West and reduce the likelihood of reunification of the country after more than a decade of quarry after the overthrow of Gaddafi. Recall that in the capital of Libya, warring groups arranged a long shootout. According to journalists, intense battles began at night and lasted until the morning of August 27. Earlier, Focus wrote that unknown drones attacked the Wagner's base in Libya.