NATO operation in Libya only to oust Gaddafi: Russian envoy
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Russian ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin on Tuesday said NATO operations in Libya are aimed only at ousting Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi but not fulfilling UN resolutions, according to RIA Novosti news agency.
"These actions have been reduced to (an attempt to) overthrow the Gaddafi regime, not fulfill UN resolutions," Rogozin was quoted as saying.
"This is in open conflict with the UN Security Council resolutions," he added.
Rogozin also revealed that Russia will formally ask NATO to clarify an imminent ground operation in Libya during a NATO-Russia Council meeting on Wednesday.
"We have information, and we are going to double-check this information by filing direct written inquiries to NATO," Rogozin said.
NATO said its air campaign had rolled back the ability of government forces to attack the opposition fighters and their supporters, and had effectively forced Gaddafi himself into hiding.
However, the three-month conflict seems to have reached in a deadlock, as the opposition controls the east part of Libya and some of the west but cannot advance westward further to the capital of Tripoli.
The UN Security Council resolution 1970 imposed an arms embargo against Libya and slapped sanctions on members of Gaddafi's inner circle, while resolution 1973 authorized a no-fly zone over Libya.
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