Abstract
After Syria, Russia is now also making its presence felt in Libya. This time, however, its approach is very different.
Far less military support is being provided for the eastern Libyan ruler Khalifa Haftar than for Assad in Syria. Even though Haftar has some powerful supporters in Moscow, Russia is leaving all options open.
On the one hand, economic interests are at stake, namely arms sales and investments in the energy sector. At the same time, Russia is also presenting itself as an important power factor, in competition with the US - albeit in a much less antagonistic fashion than in Syria.