Benghazi as second Russian naval base in Med?

[CV32]

Is the Colonel still a kook?

 

From Aviation Week's ARES Blog

 

Moscow Eyes Strategic Port of Benghazi as Second Med Naval Station

Posted by David Eshel at 11/4/2008 9:01 AM CST

 

Colonel Mummar el-Qaddafi, Libya's longtime controversial leader, visited Moscow over the weekend and apparently offered the Port of Benghazi to Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev during their talks in the Kremlin last Saturday.

 

The port is located in a highly strategic position, on the north east coast on the Gulf of Sidra, facing southern Europe. No wonder then that prominent Russian naval officers are happy with this lucrative offer. “Russia is interested in getting access to naval bases in the Mediterranean as this would expand the operational reach of our Navy,” said Admiral Ivan Kapitanets, former deputy Navy commander of the former Soviet Union and Russia.

 

Russia’s relationship with Libya has been deeply rooted in the days of the Cold War, when Libya was a primary Soviet client state in the Middle East and the Soviet navy had air stations and access to naval facilities in Libyan ports. But Qaddafi's Libya was seen as a rogue state by Washington until it agreed to give up a weapons of mass destruction programme in 2003, trying hard to mend its ties with the West. Thus, the colonel's latest move seems strange and dangerous.

 

Last April, then Russian President Vladimir Putin made a high-profile visit to Libya. It seems that a massive $2bn arms sales package had been discussed, including modern Su-35 “Flanker” and MIG-29SMT “Fulcrum” fighter jets, S-300 strategic air defense systems, Tor-M1 and possibly Tor-M2E point-defense surface-to-air missiles Su-30 fighter planes and advanced T-90 battle tanks. Such a move could signal Moscow is sending warning signals to the West, that Russia still has a big footprint in the Middle East.

 

As Russia’s naval activity increases, Russian warships docked in Libya last month before heading for Venezuela to take part in joint naval exercises. The Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier and Moskva missile cruiser are frequently cruising in the Mediterranean. Now, major combatants like the nuclear-powered missile cruiser Pyotr Velikiy (Peter the Great), the large ASW ship Admiral Chabanenko and the Neustrashimy (Fearless) missile frigate have also paid calls at the Syrian port of Tartus, in which Russia wishes to build its main Mediterranean station. Having similar access to facilities in Benghazi, could further challenge NATO's Sixth Fleet base at Naples, just round the corner in southern Italy.

[CV32]

From RIA Novosti

 

Libya 'ready to host Russian naval base'

10:09 | 31/ 10/ 2008

 

MOSCOW, October 31 (RIA Novosti) - Libya is willing to host a Russian naval base as a means of security against any possible U.S. attack, a Russian business daily said on Friday.

 

Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi will pay an official visit to Russia at the invitation of President Dmitry Medvedev from October 31 to November 2.

 

The Kommersant newspaper cited a source close to the preparations for the visit as saying that the Libyan leader was planning to raise the naval base issue during talks with the Russian leadership.

 

"The Libyan leader believes that a Russian military presence in the country would prevent possible attacks by the United States, which despite numerous Libyan attempts to amend bilateral relations is not in a hurry to embrace Colonel Qaddafi," the paper said.

 

Russia desperately needs a naval base in the Mediterranean to establish a permanent military presence in the region. As a sign of a possible deal with Libya, Russian warships have recently paid a number of visits to the North African country.

 

A naval task force from Russia's Northern Fleet, led by the nuclear-powered missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky, visited the Libyan capital, Tripoli, in October and the Neustrashimy (Fearless) missile frigate from Russia's Baltic Fleet has also recently called at Tripoli to replenish supplies.

 

Another Russian business daily, Vedomosti, said last week that deals to supply arms to Libya worth more than $2 billion could be signed during Qaddafi's visit.

 

Qaddafi, who has ruled oil and gas-rich Libya since 1969, last visited the Russian capital in 1985, before the breakup of the Soviet Union.

 

The paper also cited an official in the Russian Technology Corporation as saying that contracts had been discussed on the supply of 16 SU-30 MKI Flanker-H multirole fighters, T-90 tanks, and TOR-M2E air defense systems to Libya.

 

Libya's Soviet-era $4.6 billion debt was recently written off in lieu of a host of new contracts, the largest being a $3 billion deal under which the Russian Railways monopoly is to build a 554-km (344-mile) railroad in Libya.

 

The deal was signed when the then president and current prime minister, Vladimir Putin, visited the country in April 2008.

[broncepulido]

We remember, the first base is Tartus, in Syria. Now (13 January 2009), a port of call for CV Admiral Kuznetsov and DD Admiral Levchenko (Udaloy class):

Le porte-avions russe Admiral Kuznetsov en Syrie

http://www.meretmarine.com/article.cfm?id=109230

[CV32]

From RIA Novosti

 

Russian Navy denies plans for bases in Mediterranean countries

18:04 | 16/ 01/ 2009

 

MOSCOW, January 16 (RIA Novosti) - A spokesman for the Russian Navy denied on Friday media rumors about the possible establishment of Russian naval facilities in several countries in the Mediterranean.

 

Russian media recently reported that Russia was planning to set up naval facilities in Yemen, Syria and Libya, among other countries, in the next few years.

 

"This report is not official information disseminated by the military authorities and, therefore, is false," Capt. 1st Rank Igor Dygalo said.

 

The deputy chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces said earlier on Friday that it was too soon to name any countries where its Navy would like to deploy "basing points," but confirmed that the General Staff had backed the Navy command's proposal to develop naval infrastructure outside Russia.

 

"At this stage it is too early to talk about the geographic location of the basing points. Negotiations are under way with the governments of the countries in question. Any premature disclosure could have a negative impact on the course of these negotiations," Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn said.

 

The Soviet-era Navy maintenance site near Tartus in Syria is the only Russian foothold in the Mediterranean.

 

Russian media reports have suggested the facility could be turned into a base for the country's Black Sea Fleet, which could lose its current main base in Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula in 2017.

 

About 50 naval personnel and three floating piers are reportedly deployed at the Tartus site, which can accommodate up to a dozen warships, and Russia is expanding the port and building a pier in nearby El-Latakia.