Importance of the Libyan Crisis for Russia After the Arab Spring

... and Sergei Lavrov, accused Washington and its allies of toppling the legitimate Libyan government, which led to widespread bloodshed and the emergence of jihadist groups. While Putin — unlike Italy and France — always supported the dictatorship of Libya, Moscow joined Western-led arms sanctions in 2011. However, a few months later, Moscow, seeking to return to Libya, established close relations with the civil war leader, General Haftar. Since early 2012 Moscow has sent military hardware equipment to the country unilaterally....