Moscow— The Commander-in-Chief of the Libyan National Army (LNA), Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, has arrived in Moscow late Wednesday night at the invitation of the Russian Federation.
An official reception ceremony was held in his honor at the airport, and he was received by Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Lieutenant General Yunus-Bek Yevkurov. Marshal Haftar was accompanied by a number of senior military officers including the Chief of Staff of the Security Forces in the Libyan National Army (LNA) Lieutenant General Khaled Haftar.
It is most likely that Field Marshal Haftar is invited by Moscow to Russia to attend Victory Day parade on May 9. Seven African heads of state are expected to be present in Moscow to take part in the event.
Commemorative events in the Russian capital will mark 80 years since the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
According to Russian media, President Vladimir Putin is expected to hold bilateral meetings with the leaders of five African states including Congo, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso and Guinea-Bissau. It is not known if Mr. Khalifa Haftar will also be meeting President Putin,
The head of the Security Forces General Khaled Haftar made a three-day visit to Russia last weekend and held a number of meetings with Russian officials during which expanding areas of military and security cooperation and coordination were discussed, said a statement by the Security Forces.
