Russia did not vote for the UN Security Council resolution on Libya because of its ambiguity and lack of a clear mandate for the use of force, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.
“We could have backed that resolution had it clearly defined the bounds on the use of force,” he said.
The sponsors of the resolution “acted in haste,” he said, leading to imprecise, vague wording.
“Now there is considerable ambiguity about the practical implementation of this resolution by the countries that have volunteered to translate it into reality,” Lavrov said.
He reiterated Moscow’s position that the resolution’s overriding priority was to prevent civilian casualties.
The Russian minister warned the coalition against arming the Libyan opposition.
The United States, France and Italy sug…