By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russian President Dmitry Medvedev gave no instructions to call an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for discussions on the NATO-led military operation in Libya, his aide said.
NATO has been enforcing a UN resolution to protect civilians in Libya since mid-March. The alliance has stepped up air strikes around Tripoli and four other major cities in recent days.
“At the moment, the president gave no instructions to initiate an emergency Security Council meeting on Libya,” presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko told journalists.
Prikhodko’s statement came hours after report by Libyan state-run JANA news agency that Tripoli urged Russia, a permanent UN Security Council member, to call the meeting.
Earlier Tuesday, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sharply criticised NATO’s military actions in Libya, saying the North African state was being illegally destroyed by “so-called civilised society”.