Russia warns NATO over Libya action

Russian Ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/187905.html

Russian envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin has accused the military alliance of exceeding the UN resolution on Libya and thwarting the political process that can end the conflict.

Rogozin blamed NATO for undermining efforts by the Libyan opposition forces to initiate ceasefire negotiations with unpopular Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi, Xinhua reported on Wednesday.

Russia's envoy to NATO said both forces loyal to Gaddafi and the revolutionaries have recognized that the conflict has been degenerated into a war of attrition and must come to an end.

Libya has been the scene of intense fighting between the revolutionaries and government forces since mid February.

On 17 March, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1973 to impose a no-fly zone over Libya.

The Western coalition has recently intensified its attacks on Libya in an alleged attempt to increase pressure on the country's ruler.

"But it is impossible to start [the] political process while NATO airstrikes continue," Rogozin said, pointing out that "NATO has long gone beyond what was expected and ordered by the 1973 resolution on Libya."

He said NATO was taking sides in the Libya war, and added, "Now, common sense dictates that NATO must stop its actions and, on top of this, not get involved in this civil war on the side of one of the parties.”

The military alliance has admitted that its forces have killed scores of civilians and wounded many others in the ongoing aerial attacks on key Libyan cities.