the Russian foreign Ministry today, April 27, denied publication in Arab media about the death on 10 April of mercenaries PMC “Wagner”, fighting on the side of the Libyan national army (LNA) led by field Marshal Khalifa the Haftarot. According to the Arab media, during the fighting near the town of Salah ad DIN was destroyed the headquarters of the operational management PMC “Wagner”.
“Please note that currently in a combat zone in Libya is not a single Russian soldier. Reliable data on the citizens who would participate in the clashes in Libya and died on the dates indicated, the foreign Ministry has not received”, — says the statement of the Russian foreign Ministry.
“In reality, Russia is committed to the cease-fire and political settlement of the crisis in Libya. Intent to support any of the conflicting parties never showed,” said the foreign Ministry.
“In the course of all initiatives that were taken in their time by France, Italy and the United Arab Emirates for reviving direct dialogue between the conflicting parties in Libya, we are always called to proceed from the principle that decisions should be approved directly by the parties to the conflict, and we will only help them to sit down at the negotiating table. In most cases, as for example during the Berlin conference, our calls were unheeded. Nevertheless, Russia will continue to try to help Libya to get out of this deep crisis”, — he said during his online lectures for students of the University.
lately, the number of publications in Arabic, Turkish and Western media about the activities of PMCs “Wagner” in Libya has increased dramatically. It is not only referred to the foreign Ministry the battle, but also of alleged ongoing recruitment of PMC fighters in Syria, their preparation and the transfer to Libya, as well as the use of Russian mercenaries nerve gas in the battles during Salah ad-DIN.
the Latest information published at the end of last week, the Minister of internal Affairs of the Palestinian national consensus Government of Libya Fathi Balaga. In the LDF called his assertion a lie. The presence of Russian mercenaries in Libya repeatedly stated by President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Recall that in January, Russian President Vladimir Putin said: if in Libya “and has Russian citizens, they do not represent the interests of the Russian state and money from the Russian state does not receive.” Kommersant’s source in Libya familiar with the situation on the front lines, called word on the application of nerve gas implausible, as the positions of the two warring parties are close to each other in the case of such an attack could be hurt both of them. As for the Russian mercenaries, according to him, the moment he does not observe their presence, although there are several military advisers who are not involved in the fighting.
Marianna Belenkaya
2020, the year began for the Arab countries with a new round of internal conflicts.
