The statement of the African command of the US armed forces about the supply of Russian MiG-29 fighters to Libya looks more like some kind of nonsense, the head of the Defense and Security Committee of the Federation Council Viktor Bondarev said.
"Of course, the MiG-29 is one of the best front-line fighters created by the Soviet aviation industry. Easy to pilot, easy to operate and very reliable. But to say that a few MiG-29s can capture the coast of Libya is nonsense," quotes, in particular, the parliamentarian RIA Novosti.
He added that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, MiG-29s are now fighting all over the world, and Libya is no exception.
"This is not the only country in Africa that has had and still has them. By the way, the Syrian air force also has them, and they showed themselves well when working on terrorists on the ground. Therefore, if there are planes in Libya, they are not Russian, but Soviet," the Senator said.
Bondarev said that in the same way, the Americans around the world actively sold and are selling the F-16s that are being removed from service.
"But if I meet Turkish, Israeli or Italian F-16s in the sky, I will not say that this is the American air force. I doubt the commander of AFRICOM doesn't know that. Either didn't figure it out. Or he was just used," he said.
He noted that in the 80-ies MiG-29 fighters were in service almost all countries of the Warsaw Pact, not to mention exports to Africa and Asia.
"But after the collapse of the USSR, our former allies joined NATO and started selling them all over the world. Even more than that, about 20 MiG-29s of different types were bought from Moldova by the Americans themselves in 1997. Irrevocably. Where are they now? Ukrainians also sold their own planes, which were inherited after the division of the Soviet heritage, " Bondarev concluded.
Since the overthrow and death of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been ruled by dual power. The East is ruled by the Parliament elected by the people, and the West, in the capital Tripoli, by the Government of National Accord formed with the support of the UN and the European Union, led by Fayez Sarraj.
The leadership of the Eastern part of the country operates independently of Tripoli and cooperates with the Libyan National Army led by Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who has not stopped trying to capture the capital in the West since April 2019.
Russia has repeatedly denied accusations of involvement in the Libyan conflict, calling allegations that Russian mercenaries are allegedly present there unfounded. At the same time, Moscow supports a peaceful settlement of the situation in the country and maintains contacts with both warring parties.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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