The US Deputy Secretary of State David Schenker, with his remarks on the Middle East, “poisons” relations between Moscow and Washington, the Russian Embassy in the United States said.
Earlier, Deputy Secretary of State for Middle East Affairs David Schenker accused Moscow of interfering in Libyan affairs, which, he said, “provoked Turkish intervention”, without providing any evidence. As a justification for his findings, he cited allegations already refuted by the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Mikhail Bogdanov.
“They drew attention to the next anti-Russian statements by Deputy Secretary of State for Middle East David Schenker during a speech on June 11 at the Hudson Institute. This time he claimed that our country allegedly helps Damascus to commit genocide of the Syrian population, and also intends to open a military base in Libya”, – the embassy said in a statement on Facebook.
The diplomatic mission expressed regret that “high-ranking representatives of the administration are distributing fakes, thereby poisoning Russian-American relations”.
Russia rejects the US accusations of meddling in Libya and declares its interest in resolving the conflict. Earlier, Mikhail Bogdanov has already refuted allegations made abroad, including those from the US State Department, about the presence in Libya of PMCs “Wagner” and their participation in battles on the side of Marshal Khalifa Haftar. The Deputy Foreign Minister noted that this information is based on manipulated data from sources of often dubious nature that have a direct interest in supporting opponents of Haftar.
After the overthrow and assassination of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya virtually ceased to function as a single state. Dual power reigns in the country now. The parliament elected by the people sits in the east, and in the west, in the capital Tripoli, the Government of National Accord, headed by Fayez Sarraj, formed with the support of the UN and the European Union, rules. The authorities of the eastern part of the country operate independently of Tripoli and cooperate with the Libyan National Army, led by Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who has not stopped trying to capture Tripoli since April 2019.