LNA Denies Haftar Seeking to Allow Russia to Set up Military Base in Libya
An informed source in the Libyan National Army (LNA), commanded by Khalifa Haftar, denied to Asharq Al-Awsat that the military was planning on reaching an agreement with Russia to allow it to set up a military base in the country. Bloomberg had reported that Russia was seeking to strike a defense agreement between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Haftar when the latter visited Moscow in September. It quoted sources as saying that Haftar "was looking for air-defense systems to protect him against rival forces in Tripoli, who have been backed by Türkiye's military."