US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Russia “continues to threaten Mediterranean stability” and is using “a variety of techniques to spread disinformation, undermine national sovereignty, and sow chaos, conflict, and division within countries throughout the region.”
Pompeo in a statement issued on Tuesday titled “Russian Influence in the Mediterranean” was responding to statements made earlier this month by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in which he accused the United States of playing political games in the Mediterranean and stalling the appointment of a new UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Libya. “It’s unfortunate and unhelpful that Mr. Lavrov again gets the facts wrong and attempts to rewrite history,” Pompeo said.
Pompeo singled out Syria, where he said Russia “supports the Assad regime whose war against its own people has added to regional instability, led to a protracted humanitarian crisis, and displaced half the population.” He also referred to Russian involvement in Greece, Cyprus and Malta. In Libya, he said, Russia supported an assault on Tripoli and also violates the UN arms embargo, as well as printed counterfeit Libyan dinars “that have destabilized the Libyan economy.”
“All of these actions clearly demonstrate that if anyone is playing political games and trying to stall progress in regional conflicts, it is Russia, which only acts to advance its own interests to the detriment of the entire region,” Pompeo said.