Post date: Apr 05, 2011 12:40:54 PM
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Russia sought clarification on legality of U.N. and France's military involvement in Cote d'Ivoire conflict.
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (APRIL 5, 2011) REUTERS - Russia questioned the use of force by U.N. peacekeepers in Ivory Coast on Tuesday (April 5), after peacekeepers backed by the French military targeted Laurent Gbagbo's heavy weapons capabilities with attack helicopters.
"We are studying the legal side of the situation, because the peacekeepers had a mandate which obliges them to be neutral and impartial," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a news conference with his Gabonese counterpart Paul Toungui.Lavrov said Russia had requested an urgent briefing at the U.N. Security Council on the issue.
"So far we have not heard very clear answers to our questions," he said.
"I hope the situation will be resolved through political means because what's happening now creates extremely negative consequences which would be felt for a very long time if use of force continues," Lavrov added.
Earlier on Tuesday, Russia's Foreign Ministry called for an end to fighting and the start of talks.
France, which has repeatedly called on Gbagbo to step down, said on Tuesday that it was not at war in Ivory Coast, its former colony. A French government spokesman said "we are applying the democratic will of the people".
Russia, sensitive about foreign involvement in election disputes because of criticism of its own democracy record, earlier used the threat of a U.N. Security Council veto to quash a plan for potential military intervention in Ivory Coast by the West African regional group ECOWAS, according to diplomats.
But Russia voted with the other 14 Security Council members on March 30 for a resolution that imposed sanctions on Gbagbo's government and echoed earlier U.N. calls for him to step down.
In broader remarks, Lavrov said that all African nations, including Ivory Coast and Libya, should resolve their problems without foreign intervention, while the international community needs to stimulate political dialogue.
Russia let the U.N. Security Council resolution authorising intervention in Libya pass by abstaining in the vote. Lavrov reiterated concern about the extent of the NATO-led coalition's military role and said Russia would seek clear limits on the mandate of outside forces in any future resolution.
"On the initial stage of the implementation of the (U.N.) resolution the United States took the lead. Later on they passed it on to NATO whose Council took appropriate decision. So strictly speaking the resolution allows such procedures though I'd repeat that they are not ideal and in future if any similar issue, God forbid, will have to be discussed at the Security Council, we will have to spell out very thorough who will be authorised to use military force and in what way. This is very serious. And we should learn from the experience we have had," said Lavrov.
Commenting on situation in Cot d'Ivoire at a joint news conference with Lavrov Gabonese Foreign Minister Paul Toungui said the conflict was a big concern for the neighboring African nation.
"It is a situation which we are very concerned about, our evaluation of the situation is that it is not the kind of example which Africa wants to show the world, and we call for a speedy regulation of the situation which will allow a return to normal life in Cote d'Ivoire, so that people can resume their daily lives", Toungui said.
Gbagbo has defied international pressure to give up the presidency of the cocoa-growing country after a November election that U.N.-certified results showed his opponent Alassane Ouattara won.
More than 1,500 people have died in the standoff since, though the real toll is probably much higher.