On the sidelines of the African Chiefs of Defense Conference, held in Rome on March 2, the commander of the US African Command (AFRICOM), gen. Michael Langley, met jointly with the chiefs of staff of both Libyan armies: gen. Haddad of the GNU army in Tripoli and gen. Nadhuri for the Tobruk LNA. This is learned from a press release issued by the US State Department and by AFRICOM itself1.
The text concludes by stating "the US commitment to support the Libyan people in their desire for peace, national unity and full sovereignty".
Further details disseminated to the local press by the GNU delegation2 reveal that in the framework of the talks the United States would urged the parties to embark on a process aimed at reunifying the Libyan armed forces. With a series of tweets dated March 2, the US embassy declared its support for the formation of a common military junta, considered a first step towards the reunification of the Libyan army.
These are very explicit declarations that confirm what could be deduced from the American movements in the area in recent months (read article).
With Russia distracted by the war in Ukraine, the United States seems intent on ousting the Wagner and return to assume a decisive role in the Libyan match.
Remove Russia from the central Mediterranean
The link of the Russian Federation to the LNA is not only an obstacle to the path of reunification of Libya. Undermining Russian influence should be seen as a prime objective for NATO in terms of defending its southern front. Precisely the front that sees our country deployed on the front line, as the largest naval power in the central Mediterranean.
If with the opening of the Syrian base in Tartus the Russian presence in the warm seas had intensified, since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine it has increased exponentially. The dozens of naval units of the Federation currently present in the Mediterranean basin constitute a direct challenge for our national security, as underlined by the Chief of Staff of the Navy, Enrico Credendino, in the hearing at the defense commission on 23 February3. At present, the ability of the Navy to monitor the commercial and energy supply routes vital to the national economy is being severely tested, in particular the three submarine pipelines that supply our country. What happened at the Nord Stream in fact, he should have taught us not to consider European energy infrastructures inviolable.
Therefore, the US initiatives for rapprochement with the Tobruk authorities offer our country a rare opportunity to return to protecting national interests in our neighboring country, after years of passivity in which the initiative has been left to far more unscrupulous actors, who they are thus perilously close to our southern borders.
Severing the link between Russia and the eastern Libyan faction is essential to avert the risk of a Russian Navy base on the coast in front of our peninsula.
1https://www.africom.mil/image/35154/commander-meets-libyan-delegation-at...
2https://libyaupdate.com/details-revealed-romes-meeting-between-africom-c...
3 Navy, Russian fleet increases in the Mediterranean, risks of accidents - Il Sole 24 ORE
Photo: AFRICOM
