British site: Egypt is considering withdrawing its support from Haftar

The British Middle East Eye website published a report entitled "Sisi Egypt is considering withdrawing support from Haftar Libya" in which its writer indicated that the Egyptian authorities are not satisfied with the failure of the retired Major General Khalifa Haftar's attack on the Libyan capital Tripoli, and that they will be pleased to replace "the rogue general" with another.

The writer mentioned - quoting an Algerian source familiar with the conflict in Libya - that Egypt might "reconsider" its support for Haftar. He added that this information is from an Egyptian diplomat who admitted that "the communication between Cairo and the Libyan leader has deteriorated to a great extent."

The report quoted the Algerian source as saying that the Egyptian government had decided to "transfer Hifter's file to military intelligence" and that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi "recently canceled a scheduled meeting" with the retired general.

He pointed out that this collapse may have prompted Haftar, who is supported by the Emirati and Saudi, to seek support from other places, including Russia and Greece. On January 17th, the general met with Greek officials who "encouraged him to sign a ceasefire" at the last Berlin conference on the Libyan conflict.

Greek Prime Minister Kiriakos Mitsotakis stressed "the need for a political solution" and "urged Haftar to take a constructive position" in Berlin. On the same day, a letter from the general to a "dear friend" of Russian President Vladimir Putin was published, expressing his gratitude for "Russia's efforts toward peace and stability in Libya."

The British website hinted at what was reported by the "Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed" newspaper that Putin was "very brief" with Sisi in a phone conversation a few days ago, during which they discussed the conflict in Libya.

According to an Egyptian source for the London newspaper, "At the end of the conversation, Sisi found himself demanding a positive response to Russia's pressure for a cease-fire (in Libya) according to an agreement concluded without Egypt, with Cairo notified only in detail, without participation in the drafting process."

However, according to the Egyptian diplomatic source, these latest events are part of a larger picture of the reason why the leader of the so-called Libyan National Army has lost Cairo's support.