Are Russia and Turkey in tug of war over Libya?
Libya has emerged as a contested issue between Russia and Turkey.
![SYRIA-SECURITY/RUSSIA-TURKEY-TALKS Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Russia October 22, 2019. Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC11687C0E70](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2019/12/RTS2SA0C.jpg/RTS2SA0C.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=PX1AUPSw)
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the situation in Syria and Libya in a Dec. 11 phone call. The Turkish side initiated the conversation to address the countries' emerging differences over Libya that the two were trying to patch up. A few days earlier, Erdogan had declared his readiness to dispatch soldiers to Libya.
“There is a security company from Russia [in Libya] called Wagner," Erdogan said. "This company sent its security staff there. On the issue of sending soldiers … if Libya makes such a request from us, we can send our personnel there, especially after striking the military security agreement.”