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Situation in Libya

EU’s new Mediterranean operation must be agreed upon with UN Security Council — diplomat

On February 17, High Representative of the European Union Josep Borrell announced that Foreign Ministers of 27 EU member states made a decision to wrap up Operation Sophia, which sought to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean, and begin a new mission

UN Security Council AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

UN Security Council

© AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

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Lavrov urges competing, conflicting initiatives be avoided in Libyan settlement process

MOSCOW, February 20. /TASS/. The new military mission on Libyan arms embargo supervision, with which the EU wants to replace its ongoing Operation Sophia, must be agreed upon with the UN Security Council, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday.

"We presume that during development of the new operation deployment modality or at least during discussion of its format, the European Union and those, who plan all this, would necessarily discuss it with the United Nations Security Council. Simply because one cannot take any measures that could be viewed as disrespect for prerogatives of this supreme body on maintaining international peace and security," Zakharova commented.

The EU has not made the final decision on the new operation yet, but member nations do conduct relevant discussions, the diplomat explained.

"In this regard explanations are required for reports claiming that Brussels believe that the current UN mandate for Operation Sophia is allegedly enough and no new mandate is needed," she noted.

Zakharova recalled that in 2011 several nations had already neglected the UN Security Council decision on Libya, which led to the destruction of the Libyan statehood and caused the ongoing military conflict on its territory.

"We believe that, by acting through the UN Security Council, our European colleagues would be able to develop required solutions, and it is important that norms of the international law, including the UN Security Council prerogatives, would be complied with," she concluded.

Currently, there are two parallel executive bodies acting in Libya: the internationally recognized Government of National Accord and the east-based Interim Cabinet, which acts together with the parliament and the Libyan National Army. On February 17, High Representative of the European Union Josep Borrell announced that Foreign Ministers of 27 EU member states made a decision to wrap up Operation Sophia, which sought to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean, and begin a new mission on maintaining the weapons embargo against Libya.

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