Former French President, Nicolas Sarkozy defended his 2011 decision to intervene militarily in Libya, calling criticisms of his actions “baseless.”
In a press conference, Sarkozy emphasized the global consensus behind the decision at the time, “Our intervention in Libya in 2011 was carried out with mandates from the United Nations, the Arab League, and NATO.”
Sarkozy also hinted at a vendetta from the allies of the former Libyan regime, accusing them of retaliating against him with false claims that they funded his 2007 election campaign. This statement alludes to longstanding allegations that have dogged the ex-president, drawing significant media attention over the years.
Moreover, Sarkozy was critical of his successor, François Hollande, saying he abandoned the Libyan cause. His comments echo a broader sentiment regarding Western involvement in post-revolutionary Libya, and its subsequent challenges.
Adding weight to the discourse on Libya, Sarkozy mentioned that former US President, Barack Obama once admitted that neglecting the nascent democracy in Libya in 2012 was among his administration’s gravest foreign policy mistakes.
Notably, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov underlined that Russia does not interfere in the internal affairs of other states, dismissing French President, Emmanuel Macron’s claims against Moscow. He said that Libya became a “black hole” – among other things – due to France’s intervention in the Libyan Civil War as part of NATO forces.
The former Secretary-General of the Arab League, Amr Moussa claimed last year that the results of NATO’s intervention in Libya “were disastrous.”
In press statements, Moussa added that the “results of NATO’s intervention in Libya in 2011 were a violation of Libyan sovereignty.”
He confirmed that the “situation in Libya was difficult in light of the state of anger and revolution. This opened the door to many rumours and stories at the time.”
Moussa stressed that the Arab League did not ask for NATO’s intervention. “What is reported about our call for NATO to intervene in Libya is contrary to the truth, and there is a lot of misunderstanding about it. If the Arab League could move NATO in this way, it would be easy. It is not reasonable what is being reported in this regard, and whoever wants to know the truth should see the documents available at the United Nations.”
He pointed out that the discussions that took place in this regard “must be viewed and not rely on what is published of whims only. It is also possible to view the book of the Libyan Foreign Minister at this time.”
He emphasized that the Libyan Foreign Minister at the time “acknowledged his fear of me interfering in the Security Council discussions and my objection to NATO’s intervention in Libya. I tried to ease matters personally, but I could not stop a Security Council resolution.”
