'NATO sliding into ground war in Libya'

Russia's ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/184889.html

A Russian official has said that NATO military operations in Libya are heading down the slippery slope toward a ground war in the North African country.

“It is our observation that NATO is sliding down and being dragged more and more into the eventuality of a land-based operation in Libya,” Reuters quoted Russia's ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, as saying at a press conference in London on Wednesday.

Rogozin referred to the conflict in Libya as a “civil war” and warned that the military intervention would aggravate the situation.

“What is happening in Tripoli is a real civil war and it is complicated by the inter-tribe contradictions and to intervene in this situation will mean to confuse this conflict and to exacerbate the situation even more,” Rogozin said.

The Russian envoy added that NATO's military campaign will internationalize the Libya conflict, leading to “extremism in Europe and hatred for the West.”

Rogozin also said that the alliance is trying to kill Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

However, the commander of Libya operations, Canadian Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard, said on Wednesday that he believes NATO can complete the mission without the deployment of ground troops.

Bouchard added that fighting between opposition forces and Gaddafi loyalists was developing “very positively.”