WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th February, 2020) US Senator Chris Murphy on Wednesday sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in which he raised the possibility of sanctioning Libyan National Army leader Khalifa Haftar over his alleged cooperation with the Russian private military company Wagner.
"I write you today to inquire about ties between the Libyan National Army leader Khalifa Haftar and the PMC Wagner (also known as the Wagner Group), and whether those ties could trigger mandatory CAATSA sanctions," the letter said referring to the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.
Murphy noted the State Department added PMC Wagner to the list of entities subject to CAATSA sanctions on September 20, 2018.
US officials accuse PMC Wagner of deploying hundreds of mercenaries in Libya equipped with heavy weapons in support of Haftar's military operations against the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA).
LNA is believed to control around 75 percent of Libyan territory primarily in the west of the country and the GNA is holding the rest, including the capital Tripoli, in the east.
Murpshy said he expects the State Department to provide a comprehensive summary of US diplomatic efforts to counter Russian influence in Libya and a detailed analysis on the relationship between Haftar and PMC Wagner.
In January, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that even if Russian citizens may be fighting in Libya, they do not represent the Russian government.
