The strong man of the east Libyathe marshal Khalifa Haftar arrived today at Russia for talks with Russian officials on the situation in Libya and bilateral relations, the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF) announced.

Haftar was received by Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Genkurov, former leader of the Russian Republic of Ingushetia, a federal subject of Russia with a predominantly Muslim population.

“The development of the situation in Libya, bilateral relations and ways of developing them and issues of common interest” are on the agenda of Haftar’s visit, the LAAF said on its Facebook page.

Genkurov has traveled several times to eastern Libya to meet with Haftar.

The last meeting between the two men was on September 17 and took place at the LAAF headquarters in Benghazi, days after floods left thousands dead and missing in eastern Libya.

Libya remains mired in chaos after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011. Two governments are vying for power: one in the capital Tripoli and a second in the east backed by Marshal Haftar.

Haftar mainly used fighters from the Russian paramilitary organization Wagner during his failed attempt to seize the Libyan capital in 2019-2020.

According to experts, a few hundred Wagner fighters are still in the country to guarantee the security of military bases and oil infrastructure.