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Africa North
Libyan general Khalifa Haftar meets Russian minister to seek help
2016-11-30
Khalifa Haftar, the military commander of Libya’s eastern government, has met Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and said he was seeking Moscow’s help in his fight against Islamic militants at home.
Apparently he's been paying attention to Syria: who helps who and who stands by whom...
Haftar, on his second visit to Moscow since the summer, requested military support from the Kremlin in September, according to Russian media. It was unclear on Tuesday if such help would be forthcoming.
The UN still maintains an arms ban on Libya but I think Russia can be flexible about that...
“Our relations are crucial, our goal today is to give life to these relations,” the TASS news agency quoted Haftar as saying at the start of talks with Lavrov. “We hope we will eliminate terrorism with your help in the nearest future.”

Haftar, who is aligned with the eastern parliament and government based in Tobruk, has been fighting a two-year military campaign with his Libyan National Army against
...pretty much everyone else...
Islamic extremists and other opponents in Benghazi and elsewhere in the east.

Haftar told Lavrov he had met Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu on Monday to tell him about his military needs. Haftar has received public backing from Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, and France sent special forces to work alongside Haftar’s Libyan National Army earlier this year. Recent military advances by Haftar’s forces have boosted his popularity at home.
Popularity doesn't pay the bills, and oil prices are low.
A UN arms embargo in place since 2011 prohibits the transfer of weapons into Libya. Only the country’s UN-backed government in Tripoli, which Haftar opposes, can bring in weapons and related material with the approval of a UN Security Council committee.

When asked, the Kremlin did not say whether it might offer Haftar any military support, describing the talks with him as business as usual.

“Moscow is in touch with various Libyan representatives and contacts with Haftar take place as part of this process,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.

Haftar’s allies have previously cultivated ties with Russia, which printed banknotes for an eastern breakaway branch of Libya’s central bank. “We spoke in general,” Haftar told reporters after the talks with Lavrov.

“We explained our position with regards to arms supplies. As a great country, Russia respects the arms embargo until it indicates it is an unjust verdict.“

Russian president Vladimir Putin has blamed the west for pursuing policies that he said led to civil wars in Libya and Syria. Russia launched a military operation to support Syrian president Bashar al-Assad last year.
Posted by:Steve White

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