MOSCOW. Nov 7 (Interfax) - Reports that 200 mercenaries of the Wagner private military company (PMC) have been sent to Libya are not true and discredit Russia's efforts to facilitate a peace process in this country, head of Russia's contact group for Libya Lev Dengov told Interfax on Thursday.
"The New York Times' claims that 200 Russian mercenaries have gone to fight in Libya are absolutely not true. Under Russian legislation, mercenary activities are banned and criminally punishable," Dengov said.
"The question is: why is The New York Times keeping silent that mercenaries from countries of Africa and also Western countries are working in Libya?" he said.
"These allegations discredit Russia's role in the peaceful settlement process [in Libya]," Dengov said.