On 22 July, Mark Katz, professor of government and politics at George Mason University, wrote a blog for the Atlantic Council exploring Russia's options for retaining its forces in Libya. He argues that it is plausible that Moscow may persuade the GNU to officially invite a Russian military presence into Libya, similar to the GNA agreement with Turkey. Matz says that such a move would not be so surprising giving 'Putin’s approach to conflict between opposing parties elsewhere in the region has been to back them both—to some extent—to have leverage over them all'. He concludes that despite the stipulations of the UN-led peace process it seems likely that Russia will maintain some form of military presence in Libya.
Will Russian forces really leave Libya?