SOCHI, August 5 (Itar-Tass) — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that attempts to restore order in Libya from the outside by military means are wrong.
He said Russia is not taking part in this military operation, however a number of countries are trying to establish order there by military means. This is wrong, Medvedev said in an interview with Russian and Georgian journalists of the Ekho Moskvy Radio, Russia Today TV channel and First Caucasus Channel on Friday.
On the eve of the 3rd year anniversary of the Russian-Georgian conflict, Medvedev considered it important to note the differences between what happened in Georgia and the current situation in Libya.
He noted, in particular, “There are no identical countries, and there are no identical situations. I guess it’s clear to you what is going on in Libya: there’s a man who has been running the country for forty years, and at some point he decided to use force against his own people. This was condemned by the entire international community, including Russia.”
“We are not taking part in the military campaign, whereas a few nations are attempting to instil order in Libya through military means. We don’t think it is the right thing to do, but there is one nuance you should keep in mind. Georgia had been split into three parts by the time of the war – it should’ve been about pulling the country back together for them rather than merely ‘restoring constitutional order’ – whereas Libya is still in one piece,” Medvedev said. “Such a risk does exist for Libya, but so far all the parties to the conflict, including the so-called rebels and the pro-Gaddafi forces, have pledged to preserve their country’s territorial integrity. So the situations are quite different. However, I’m not saying this to explain how we make decisions. I am merely trying to demonstrate that all of these situations and scenarios are totally diverse. This goes for other countries as well.”