Nine years after the US helped bomb the once wealthiest African nation into stone ages, the Tripoli-based government would happily welcome American troops on Libyan soil, for more ‘terrorism fighting’ and to ‘deter’ Russia.
in the wake of US plans, voiced by Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, to scale back the military presence in the region and re-focus American forces globally towards confronting such adversaries as Russia and China, Fathi Bashagha, the interior minister for the UN-recognized GNA told Bloomberg that Libya would be happy to help.
If the US asks for a base, as the Libyan government we wouldn’t mind – for fighting terrorism, organized crime and keeping foreign countries that intervene at a distance. An American base would lead to stability.
While admitting that Washington’s plans were not clear to him, Bashagha claimed that the Russians are for sure “have a big strategy in Libya and Africa,” emphasizing Libya’s strategic significance in case Washington is really worried about Moscow’s push for global influence.
The redeployment is not clear to us… But we hope that the redeployment includes Libya so it doesn’t leave space that Russia can exploit.
Earlier this week, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu met with the commander of the Libyan National Army Khalifa Haftar to discuss the situation in Libya, stressing the need to fulfill the decisions made at the Berlin conference, and confirming commitment to Libya’s independence, unity and territorial integrity.
Libya was thrown into chaos in 2011, when a revolt –backed by a NATO bombing campaign– led to the overthrow of long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi, and turned the once prosperous North African state into a battlefield divided by various militant factions. Over the past few years, Haftar’s forces prevailed and have been in control of most of Libya, save for the capital, Tripoli.
With the Haftar’s offensive on Tripoli stalled but still underway, the GNA and LNA finally entered indirect talks in Moscow in mid-January. That summit led to an implementation of a ceasefire which still largely holds in Libya, and paved the way for several other meetings between the sides.
