Russia on Tuesday urged the European Union to get U.N. Security Council approval for its military operations to enforce the arms embargo on Libya.
The EU’s unwillingness to brief the U.N. on the details of the operation ”raises questions,” said Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaking via video link to members of the Gorchakov Club for public diplomacy.
Praising the idea of monitoring compliance as ”noble,” Lavrov added: ”We told our European friends that the EU must come to the U.N. Security Council and say ’the U.N. Security Council announced the arms embargo, we – the European Union – want to make another special operation to monitor compliance with the embargo … so we ask the Security Council to support our approach.'”
”The fact that the EU is trying to avoid submitting its ideas to the U.N. Security Council raises questions about the reasons for this position,” he added.
On March 31, EU foreign ministers approved the launch of a new military mission, Operation IRINI, to monitor the U.N. arms embargo on Libya. The new mission will operate in the air, sea and with satellites to ensure that all countries respect the ban on providing arms for the parties involved in the Libyan conflict. The EU forces will also watch for illegal oil exports, prevent human trafficking and contribute to the training of the local coast guard and navy, as a complementary task. Läs artikel