In an escalation of the indirect confrontation between the United States and Russia over conflict in Libya, the US military said that Washington was considering using one of its brigades for security assistance in Tunisia amid concerns about what it said was "Russian activity" in the war-torn country.
"The concern is growing about regional security in North Africa," the US Army Command in Africa said in a statement. "We are studying with Tunisia new ways to address common security concerns, including using our brigade for security assistance."
On its part, the Tunisian Ministry of Defense said in a statement that the United States is a major partner in the efforts to build the capacity of the Tunisian army.
One of Washington's main concerns is that Moscow can use Libya's territory to find a military base or to deploy missiles.
"If Moscow guarantees a permanent location in Libya, and the worst is, if long-range missile systems are deployed, this will change the rules of the game for Europe, NATO and many Western countries," Brigadier-General Gregory Hadfield, deputy director of the Intelligence Department of the US Command in Africa, told a small group of reporters.
On the other hand, Moscow considered that the situation in Libya continues to deteriorate, noting that the cease-fire is completely broken.
"This is not just a difficult situation in Libya, we note that it is still deteriorating, this is a deterioration of the military-political situation in Libya, and the truce announced in January this year has finally been thwarted," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at an online conference at the Moscow Diplomatic Club.
Previously, the United Nations has long called for abandoning foreign intervention in the ongoing war in Libya between the Libyan National Army and Al-Wefaq government militias led by Fayez Al-Sarraj, who are openly supported, militarily and financially, from Turkey and Qatar.
Days ago, the United Nations has expressed "grave concern" over reports of "a massive influx of arms, equipment and mercenaries" there, calling on states to respect the UN embargo on sending weapons to a country mired in a fierce civil war.
"We are following with great concern recent reports about a massive flow of weapons, equipment and mercenaries," said international spokesman Stephane Dujarric and warned that any dispatch of weapons, materiel or mercenaries to Libya "constitutes a flagrant violation of the arms embargo" imposed on this country since 2011, and will not lead but to more fighting, which will have severe consequences for the Libyan people.
Earlier in France, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian expressed his regret for the "Syrianization" of the conflict in Libya, where external parties were involved in the civil war in this country, calling on the parties to the conflict to return to the negotiating table.
"The crisis is getting worse because we - and I am not afraid to use the word - in front of + Syria," he said before the French Senate Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
The French minister added that "Al-Wefaq government is backed by Turkey, which brings to the Libyan territories Syrian fighters in large numbers."
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