Soldecanarias.net / Internacional
Bashagha allegedly promised in the post to get Wagner out of Libya
The PM-designate of theeast-basedHouse of Representatives, FathiBashagha, has saidthereis no truth in thearticlepublishedbythe British Times newspaperonTuesday.
In anarticlewritten in hisname, The Times quotedBashagha as sayingthat he isready to workwithBritainifthelatterneeds a partner in Africa to resistRussia, insistingthathisgovernmentwould be theappropriatechoice.
However, a daylater, theformer interior ministerdeniedwhatwaswrittendown, sayingthat he was“surprised”bythepublication.
“I wassurprisedbyanarticleattributed to me published in the English newspaperThe Times.. I hope thisgrand and respectednewspaperinspectsaccuracy to avoidbeinginvolved in publishing false articles,”Bashaghawroteon Twitter Wednesday.
According to The Times, Bashaghasaid he washorrifiedwhen he saw Vladimir Putin’sinvasion of Ukraine. “As a Libyan, I knowwhatitislike to seeforeignforcesenteryour country illegally.”
“Since 2014, thousands of mercenariesfrom Wagner, a privatemilitarygroupclose to Vladimir Putin, havebeen in my country, leaving a trail of destructionbehind. Putin’sinvolvementissomethingthat I utterlycondemn.”
Bashaghaallegedlyvowed in thepublication to get Wagner out of Libya, but he needsBritain’shelp, whichwould be an indispensable ally in thefightagainstforeignmercenaries.
He also -according to The Times- highlightedthatLibya has thelargestoil reserves in all of Africa, vowingthatwhenoiloperations resume, hisgovernmentwillhelpweantheworld off Russianoil. Libyanoil and gas can helpcompensateforthe global shortage and reduce fuel prices in Britain, he wasquoted as saying.