Libya PM calls Russian arms transfers from Syria to Libya unacceptable

Libya’s Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah has stated that it would be unacceptable for Russia to transfer weapons from Syria to the divided OPEC nation, where rival factions in the east have previously received Kremlin support. 

“No one would accept ‘a foreign force that wants to impose its hegemony and authority on the nation and its people,’” Dbeibah said during a televised event, in response to questions about reports of Russian arms transfers. Russia has two military bases in western Syria, and their future remains uncertain following the overthrow of ally President Bashar al-Assad earlier this month, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media. 

While agreements can be made between countries regarding matters like training or education, Dbeibah emphasized that the idea of foreign troops “entering the country forcefully” is completely rejected.

“With regard to whoever enters this nation without a license, we will be against them and will fight them,” he added. 

Dbeibah's internationally recognized government in western Libya faces challenges from a rival parliament in the east, with ongoing disagreements threatening to plunge the country back into civil war. Russia, which intervened to support Assad when he was on the brink of being ousted in 2015, has a naval port in Tartus and an air base at Khmeimim. 

These facilities in Syria are considered vital for the Kremlin to maintain an air bridge and manage its military, political, and economic influence in parts of Africa. Eastern Libya, where Russia backed military commander Khalifa Haftar in his failed 2019-2020 campaign to capture Tripoli, has been suggested by some analysts as an alternative base of operations. In an interview with La Repubblica this week, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto stated that Moscow was transferring resources from Tartus to Libya. 

“This is not good,” he said. “Russian ships and submarines in the Mediterranean are always a cause for concern, especially if they are just a stone’s throw away from us instead of a thousand kilometres away.”

The precise size of the shipments remained unclear. Last week that Moscow was in talks with Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, the Islamist group now controlling most of Syria, to maintain its bases there. Some European countries are considering making the expulsion of Russia’s military a condition for lifting sanctions against HTS.

By Naila Huseynova