There is a high risk of "proliferation" of weapons delivered to Ukraine across African countries, with Libya being a transit corridor "during the period of anarchy and chaos" in the nation, said Aidar Aganin, Russia's ambassador to Libya, in an interview with a Russian media outlet.
"The issue of proliferation of weapons from Ukraine has indeed become a hot topic today. It is already appearing in a number of regions of the world and, of course, has the potential to fall into the hands of various extremist and terrorist groups," the ambassador said.
According to Aganin, any country can become a transit corridor if the state's control over the internal situation is insufficient. Therefore, he stressed, such risks can't be excluded.
In particular, Aganin referred to the internal situation in Libya as the country has been grappling with multiple crises after the 2011 Western military intervention overthrew its longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi and created a power vacuum that split the nation into rival factions.
"During the period [...] of anarchy and chaos in Libya, I think there was a flow," the diplomat said, adding: "There was almost no one to block such a corridor."
However, the ambassador underlined that Libyan security forces and competent authorities have recently become "noticeably stronger and show considerable determination to stop cross-border criminal activities."
"The biggest problem today is not weapons, but migrants and drug smuggling [...]. By the way, Russia could really help our Libyan friends to improve this ability [to address security threats], for example, through the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Investigative Committee and the Prosecutor's Office," Aganin said.
In late June, the Russian ambassador to the country presented his credentials to the head of the Libyan Presidential Council, Mohamed Menfi. Following the development, Aganin announced that Russia fully restored its diplomatic presence in Libya and intends to revive its friendly ties with the North African country.
The diplomat recalled that the Russian Embassy had to leave Libya in 2014 due to a civil conflict and worked from Tunisia since.
Since the onset of the Russian special military operation in February 2022, the United States and other NATO members have sent billions of dollars worth of weapons and equipment into Ukraine to help it in the conflict against Russia. Some African leaders and officials from other countries have repeatedly pointed out that weapons that can be traced back to Ukrainian stockpiles are being found with alarming frequency in those regions of the continent where the political situation is particularly unstable.