Military ground operations qualify as occupying Libya - Russia NATO envoy

BRUSSELS. March 26. KAZINFORM Any foreign military ground operations in Libya will be considered as occupying the country, Russia's envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin said on Saturday. Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.

"Holding [military] ground operations will be qualified as occupying Libya and that directly contradicts the resolution adopted by the UN Security Council," Rogozin told RIA Novosti.

The UN Security Council imposed a no-fly zone over Libya on March 17, also permitting "all necessary measures" to protect civilians from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's attacks on rebel-held towns.

The operation to enforce the no-fly zone, codenamed Odyssey Dawn, is being conducted jointly by 13 states, including the United States, Britain and France.

Rogozin said that on March 29, the Russian-NATO Council will meet in order "to confirm the limits that the UN Security Council has placed on the participants of the conflict." Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. See www.en.rian.ru for full version