Prime Minister-designate Fathi Bashagha denied today writing an article for British newspaper The Times, in which he allegedly denounced Russia’s involvement in Libya.
The Times article, titled ‘Libya wants to stand with Britain against Russian aggression’, was published under Bashagha’s name, and included a scathing criticism for one of the long-standing international supporters of Bashagha’s foe-turned-ally Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA).
Addressing his “British friends” at the government of Boris Johnson, the Libyan official allegedly said in the article his government is ready to work with Britain if the latter needs a partner in Africa to resist Russia.
However, a day after the article was published on The Times, Bashagha publicly distanced himself from the article, saying he was “surprised” to see it “attributed” to him.
“I was surprised by an article attributed to me published in the English newspaper The Times,” Bashagha said via Twitter. “I hope this grand and respected newspaper inspects accuracy to avoid being involved in publishing false articles.”
The Libya Update has reached out to The Times for a comment, but no response was shared it yet.
فوجئت بمقال منسوب لي منشور على صحيفة التايمز الإنجليزية ، أتمنى من هذه الصحيفة العريقة و المحترمة تحري الدقة لتفادي التورط في نشر مقالات مكذوبة
— فتحي باشاغا Fathi Bashagha (@fathi_bashagha) May 4, 2022