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Senior diplomat rejects NYT report on ‘Russian fighters’ in Libya

There are no grounds for such claims and speculation, Sergei Ryabkov said

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov

© Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS

TEL AVIV, November 7. /TASS/. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has refuted a report by The New York Times that dozens of Russian fighters have allegedly arrived in Libya.

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"I strongly reject this sort of speculation. We are acting in the interests of the Libyan settlement, we are supporting respective efforts, including by the United Nations, and we maintain dialogue with those who somehow influence the situation. We believe there are no grounds for such claims and speculation," Ryabkov told Russian reporters during his working visit to Israel.

The high-ranking diplomat noted that this is not the first time when US media outlets publish "various fairy tales, vicious rumors and speculation" about Russia.

"We are accustomed to this, we treat this calmly, although I have to note that this fake news exerts negative influence on the US domestic audience’s mood and unfortunately, the entire climate in the US does not contribute to normalizing our ties, what we are striving for," he noted.

The New York Times reported that about 200 Russian fighters had arrived in Libya in the last six weeks "as part of a broad campaign by the Kremlin to reassert its influence across the Middle East and Africa."

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