By Hadi Fornaji.
Tunis, 13 June 2016:
Indicating that Russia will veto any UN Security Council resolution on a possible NATO operation in Libya, the Moscow’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Gennady Gatilov, has told the Russian news agency RIA Novosti that it could never approve such a move.
There could be no legal action without such a resolution, Gatilov said in an interview, but in any event there have been no discussions about one.
“We have seen this all a couple of years ago and know the Security Council decision was used in the exact opposite way than was stated in the document,” he added. “Therefore I do not think that this time we will bless NATO actions in this country.”
Ever since the revolution, despite looking to work with the governments in Tripoli and Beida, Moscow has repeatedly said that NATO illegally exploited UN Resolution 1973 of 11 March 2011 which set up a no-fly zone and authorised all necessary means other than foreign occupation to protect civilians.
Russian state-controlled media have also regularly stated that the overthrow of Qaddafi was a mistake.
