Summary:

On 25 May 2025, a Belarussian delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Karankevich inaugurated the House of Belarus in Benghazi, stating it will be a place for businesses to hold meetings and to discuss contracts.  

The Belarussian delegation met with representatives from Libya’s eastern government to discuss cooperation on agriculture, education, industry, healthcare, and geological exploration. 

The meetings took place a day prior to celebrations commemorating Operation Dignity launched by General Marshal Khalifa Haftar in 2014 to take control of Benghazi from Ansar al-Sharia, a UN-designated terrorist group.  

To mark the occasion, the Libyan National Army (LNA) held a military parade that included Russian military equipment not previously seen in Libya. This included the Tor-M2 short-range air defense missile system in addition to artillery systems such as the BM-30 Smerch or Tornado-S. Chinese unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) such as the VT370, QP537 VTOL, and SATUAV V15 were also displayed during the parade. 

Outlook: 

The eastern government is showing signs strengthening its alliance with Russia after Saddam Haftar’s visit to Washington, DC. Enhancing Libya’s cooperation with Belarus is likely to permit Russia to act indirectly in Libya and elsewhere in North Africa and the Sahel in support of Russia’s strategic agenda. 

This rapprochement with Belarus is likely to bear economic and military gains to the Haftars. However, relations with other European states may be harmed by this rapprochement with Lukashenko as the EU has sanctioned Belarus since 2020 for transferring irregular migrants to other European countries and supporting the Russian war in Ukraine, among other reasons.  

European countries have expressed concern after the military parade that highlighted Russia’s footprint in Libya with advanced weaponry which bolsters the Haftars’ military capabilities along the southern flank of Europe’s Mediterranean coast. 

With these military capabilities, most likely transferred from Syria, the Libyan National Army clearly outguns the Tripoli-based government. Newly acquired air defense systems will also empower Haftar’s forces to counter Turkish-made drones, which prevented them from penetrating Tripoli in 2019. 

With Marshal Khalifa Haftar stating that his forces “will have the final word at the critical moment” during a recent speech, it is likely that he is counting on an advantageous military balance in case of an opportunity to launch an assault on Tripoli. 

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