NATO military chief criticizes meeting between Russia and General Haftar

BRUSSELS, Jan 18 (KUNA) -- Chairman of the NATO military committee General Petr Pavel said here Wednesday that last week's meeting between the Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar with Russian military officers on a Russian aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean is not helpful.
"It is very natural that Russia is trying in line with their recent policies to have more influence in the region of their interest. The contact with General Haftar may contribute if General Haftar is an official represent-ant of Libya but I believe the international community recognizes as the official represent-ant in Libya the government in Tripoli. In that sense the efforts is not helping," he told a press conference after a 2-day meeting of the NATO military committee in Brussels Wednesday.
"We would obviously welcome participation of any actor who would contribute to the solution but contacts with one side are not helpful," he added.
The NATO committee also met with the military chiefs of the Mediterranean Dialogue countries and discussed the situation in the Middle East and North Africa.
The NATO committe also disciussed NATO with Russia and the situation in Afghanistan.
Pavel stressed that NATO is at the forefront in fight against international terrorism and noted that stabilizing Afghanistan is also the best way to fight terrorism. (end) nk.mt