Russia's military embraces Khalifa Hifter ahead of intra-Libyan talks in Palermo that kick off today, but does it signal a shift in Moscow's attitude toward the Libyan crisis?
(Voice of America) The Central African Republic might seem like an unusual venue for Russia’s evolving strategy in Africa. The CAR doesn’t boast Ethiopia’s booming economy or Angola’s deep oil reserves. It lacks a developed mining industry like Zambia or a strategic location like Djibouti.
Turkey exited talks on the Libya conflict on Tuesday after it was excluded from sideline meetings. Although Libyan strongman Khalifa Hifter is not formally attending the talks in Italy, he is conducting meetings with foreign powers on the sidelines — to which Ankara was not invited. "Any meeting that excludes Turkey would prove to be counterproductive for the solution of this problem,” said Vice President Fuat Oktay, who attended the conference. "Libya cannot be stabilized as long as some countries continue to crush the process in line with their own interests,” Oktay added. Read More
- An international conference on Libya held in Italy strengthened eastern Libyan military ruler Khalifa Haftar and failed to break political deadlock, setting conditions for renewed conflict between armed groups backed by regional states. The Turkish delegation withdrew from the conference, citing favoritism for the Egypt- and UAE-backed Haftar. The UN envoy for Libya announced a return to the stalled action plan that he has sought to implement since September 2017.