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Military commanders and analysts see Moscows efforts as aimed at taking advantage of the geopolitical turbulence in the Middle East to re-establish Russia as a major player in the region and by extension the world stage

The Soviet Union maintained a substantial military presence there during the Cold War, propping up an array of anti-Western regimes to counterbalance American partners and extend its geopolitical sphere of influence.

Russia is known to be operating in Syria, Afghanistan, and, more recently, in Libya and Egypt, areas that theUnited States appeared to beabandoning under the former administration.

Russia is certainly expanding its influence and trying to reestablish itself as a superpower, Bill Roggio of the Washington-based Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD) told CNN.

Roggio, who also serves as managing editor of the Long War Journal, described the Kremlins efforts as a new form of growing Russian imperialism intended to undermine the US and NATO.

The assessment of the Kremlins ambitions comes as the top commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan declared to the Sunday Times of London that the United States and Europe need to deploy 5,000 additional troops to Afghanistan to break a stalemate between the Afghan forces and jihadists, primarily the Taliban.

American Commander Gen. John Nicholson and other U.S. military officials have accused Russia of lending support to the Taliban in an effort to delegitimize the U.S.-backed Afghan troops, allegations that Moscow has dismissed as false.

These fabrications are designed, as we have repeatedly underlined, to justify the failure of the US military and politicians in the Afghan campaign. There is no other explanation, Zamir Kabulov, the Kremlins special envoy toAfghanistan, recently told the state-run RIA Novosti.

Currently, there are 8,400 American troops and 5,000 forces from other NATO countries fighting terrorists in Afghanistan where Nicholson conceded the Afghan government only controls about 62 percent of the population and about 57 percent of the territory.

Citing U.S. officials, CNN points out that Russias ambitions extend well beyond the Middle East:

From Afghanistan to Libya, US Pentagon officials are increasingly concerned by mounting Russian military and diplomatic activity they believed is aimed at undermining the US and NATO.

Some of the actions Moscow is accused of participating in include sending operatives to support an armed faction in Libya and providing political legitimacyand maybe even supplies to the Taliban in Afghanistan. These moves come on top of their overt dispatching of warplanes and ships to target the political opponents of its ally in Syria.

Referring to U.S. Central Commands (CENTCOM) area of responsibility (AOR), which includes 20 countries stretching from Northeast Africa across the Middle East to Central and South Asia, the top American commander in charge of that region said he believes Russia is trying to expand its influence there.

It is my view that they are trying to increase their influence in this critical part of the globe, CENTCOM Commander Gen. Joseph Votel told the Senate Armed Services Committeethis month.

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US Military Concerned Russia Expanding into Obama Power Vacuums: Afghanistan, Libya, Egypt - Breitbart News

Americas commander for its military role in the North African state of Libya calls it a powder keg. What he doesnt and probably couldnt explain is why the fate of Libya matters to the United States.

Libya has borders on Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Niger, Sudan, Tunisia and the Mediterranean Sea. The only habitable part of Libya is the coastal strip. The rest is almost entirely desert, although Libya does have oil.

The United States joined with France, Italy, Britain and some Arab states in 2011 to overthrow Libyas then-leader, Moammar Gadhafi, in power for 42 years since he led the overthrow of King Idris in 1969. Gadhafi was caught and killed by militia forces and since then Libya has ended up in a state of chaos, with three different regimes now claiming legitimacy. Many different militias operate, some independent, some intermittently supporting one of the three governments.

In the meantime people-smuggling continues unabated in the absence of a government, and Libyas oil production, normally its only meal ticket, drops, with even its oil ports changing hands periodically.

There is no good reason to remain in Libya except oil, if we needed it, and the fact that various components of al-Qaida and the Islamic State have been able to maintain their places there in the shelter of Libyan governmental incoherence.

Why the United States feels any need to involve itself in the affairs of Libya, particularly with military force, is impossible to explain to the American public.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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EDITORIAL: US involvement in Libya makes chaos worse - Jacksonville Daily News

The Libyan Prime Minister of the Government of National Accord, Fayez Al-Serraj, arrived in Qatar on Saturday on a formal visit to Doha to meet Qatari officials.

The Qatari Foreign Minister, Abdel Rahman Al Thani, received the Libyan delegation headed by Al-Serraj at the Royal Palace and reaffirmed his countrys support for the political process and unity in Libya.

We will keep pushing for efforts to establish accord among Libyan parties to help Libya be stable and secure and help all Libyans lead a normal life. The Qatari FM said, according to the media office of the GNA.

On Sunday, Al-Sirraj also met with the Qatari Prince, Tamim Al Thani, and discussed mutual relations and joint interests between the two countries.

The Qatari Prince stressed his countrys commitment to helping Libya and to support the GNA, calling on the international community to be committed to its resolutions and assist the GNA and sanction the parties hindering its work.

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Qatar hosts Libyan PM to reiterate its support for unity government in Libya - Libyan Express

Indications that Russia could intervene militarily in Libyas messy civil war are growing. If it does, the Trump White House will face a tangle of unpleasant choices with far-reaching consequences. Will the new U.S. administration acquiesce to Russias strongman vision for the region, or push back against Russias growing influence there?

For months, the Kremlin has sought to draw Libyas eastern potentate General Khalifa Hiftar into its orbit. Hiftar is currently the de facto leader of a bloc of eastern Libyan forces that oppose Libyas internationally recognized government in Tripoli, the so called Government of National Accord. Negotiations between the two sides are going nowhere and rumors of a potential Hiftar offensive against the Tripoli government have been swirling for months.

Hiftar has been to Moscow and paid a visit to the Russian aircraft carrier Kuznetsov in the Mediterranean, during which he held a video call with Russian Defense Minister Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Then, last week, Moscow reportedly deployed troops to a base on Egypts northern coast just 60 miles from the border crossing with Libya.

There are a few ways to interpret their latest move: It could just be posturing, part of a Russian hybrid warfare strategy aimed at influencing ongoing negotiations over Libyas future. But there are plenty of reasons to believe it may be the early phase of a Russian intervention.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is eager to underscore the challenges that U.S. pro-democracy interventions in the Middle East have faced and offer up an alternative Russian strategy that relies on authoritarian leaders that look a lot like Putin himself. The 2011 NATO intervention in Libya has long been a target of Kremlin criticism and the chance to portray Russia as Libyas savior as Russia has attempted to do in Syria must be more than a little tempting for the Russian president.

Closer ties to Libya would also offer Russia the chance to extend its reach further along the Mediterraneans southern littoral i.e. NATOs southern flank. Russia could, for example, seek to deploy advanced anti-access, area-denial systems along the Libyan coast, significantly enlarging the anti-access bubble that it has already established in the Eastern Mediterranean with similar deployments in Syria a bubble that was already raising significant concern with top U.S. military commanders a year ago.

Influence over Libya meanwhile offers Russia leverage over Europe when it comes to the challenge posed by the increasingly deadly central Mediterranean migration route, which begins in Libya.

Libyas high quality crude is yet another reason for Moscow to throw its weight behind Hiftar. The Kremlin is fixated on the coming global competition for natural resources and the Russian oil and gas company, Rosneft, just signed a new agreement with Libyas National Oil Corporation in February. Despite a few recent setbacks, Hiftar controls a significant amount of Libyas oil infrastructure in the east and has influence over some western fields as well.

A Russian move into Libya would put the Trump team in an extremely tough spot. The U.S. has invested time and energy in supporting the Tripoli government. Moreover, U.S. and allied special forces worked with Libyan militias aligned with Tripoli in a successful counter-terrorism operation that ousted the Islamic State from the town of Sirte last year. Russian dominance in Libya could lead Italy to scuttle the sanctions regime the United States and European Union imposed on Russia on account of its annexation of Crimea and invasion of eastern Ukraine in 2014. A deeper Russian anti-access area denial pocket would meanwhile be a challenge for U.S. Military operations in the region.

If Moscow backs a Hiftar move on Tripoli, would the U.S. step aside and let its Libyan partners get crushed by a Russian-backed force? Or would it try to take action potentially even militarily to slow Hiftar down and give these allies a fighting chance of avoiding calamity?

Its not an easy choice.

Supporting the government in Tripoli would require at least some U.S. boots on the ground. A large U.S. deployment might deter a Russian intervention, but would likely meet very strong resistance within the U.S. A small-scale intervention would be more feasible, but even if U.S. advisors operated far from the front lines they would still be at risk should Russian warplanes support a Hiftar advance as they have for forces loyal to the regime of Bashar Assad in Syria.

Moreover, overt action against a Russian ally would kill the broader U.S.-Russian reset that the White House still seems to want. True, the Trump administration has sent conflicting signals about its views on Russia, with some senior officials evincing near sympathy for Putin, while others clearly harbor deep suspicion. Nevertheless, going toe-to-toe with Russia in Libya would clearly put an end to the Putin-Trump attempt at reconciliation.

The risk, then, is that the U.S. and its allies would end up largely on the sidelines as Russia installs another strongman in the region, and extends its power along NATOs southern flank. This would be a tragic outcome to the story that began with such high hopes in 2011 and another boost to Putins prestige.

Christopher S. Chivvis is associate director of the RAND International Security and Defense Policy Center and Amanda Kadlec is a policy analyst at the non-profit, non-partisan RAND Corporation.

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What Americans Need To Know If Russia Intervenes in Libya's Civil ... - Fortune

A TradeMaltastudyhas shown that Malta-basedmanufacturing companies showedan increased interest in Algeria following thecollapse of the security situation in Libya

Malta-based manufacturers focus on near markets, primarily in Europe, but are also seeking to develop new markets, especially in the Middle East and North Africa

The TradeMalta study, aimed at providing insights into the profile of internationally oriented companies in the non-food manufacturing sector, indicated that Malta-based manufacturers focus on near markets, primarily in Europe, but are also seeking to develop new markets, especially in the Middle East and North Africa.

However, following the ongoing unrest in Libya, the study found an increased interest in Algeria, another oil-based economy close to Malta.

The study, which covered a large variety of subsectors, also revealed that the cost of shipping and freight was listed as the most important barrier to export, followed by challenges in finding customers and agents.

Furthermore, more than 85% of the studys respondents claimed to have an export share of either below 20% or above 80%, meaning they were either small or large exporters. However, the study concluded that there is a fairly even distribution of smaller and larger companies represented among the exporting manufacturers in Malta.

With regard to access to finance, the most pressing issue was problems for clients in opening letters of credit. This was especially problematic for the experienced exporters with a large export share, according to the study.

While all respondents were keen to receive financial assistance to all export related activities, the results showed that attending and exhibiting in trade fairs is the activity for which manufacturing companies are most keen to obtain financial assistance. This was followed by assistance to travel to foreign markets.

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Manufacturing companies eye Algeria following unrest in Libya - MaltaToday