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Lavrov says he has heard nothing about presence of Russian troops in Egypt

Earlier, Reuters quoted diplomatic sources as saying Russia had dispatched a group of 22 commandoes to the air base in Sidi Barrani, near the border with Libya

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Artiom Korotaev/TASS

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

© Artiom Korotaev/TASS

MOSCOW, March 14. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said he has not heard anything about some presence of Russian troops in Egypt on the border with Libya from any sources other than Western media.

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Top brass dismisses Western media’s alleged ‘leaks’ on Russian special forces in Egypt

"I did see reports by some foreign agencies to the effect a couple of dozen military specialists were seen in Egyptian territory and that some drones were seen there, too," he told a news conference, when asked about rumored presence of Russian military in Libya. "I have not heard about that from any other sources."

"In any case, if the rumors concern the military, then go and ask the military. I can only say that I am responsible for diplomats, but there have no diplomats in Libya for a long time. They are forced to remain in Tunisia and address the Libyan affairs from there," Lavrov said.

"In a situation like this the attempts to present the situation in Libya as settled and not requiring the need for a national dialog among all key actors are regrettable," he stated.

Earlier, Reuters quoted diplomatic sources as saying Russia had dispatched a group of 22 commandoes to the air base in Sidi Barrani, near the border with Libya. Reuters also claimed that Russia in February used the base in Mersa Matruh, also near the border. The Russian Defense Ministry denied that.

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