Russia calls on UN Security Council to lift Libya no-fly zone

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia introduced on Friday, Oct 21 a draft UN resolution calling for an end to the no-fly zone over Libya, Russia's envoy to UN Vitaly Churkin said.

"It was the UN Security Council's decision to declare a no-fly zone over Libya, that's why a decision to lift the no-fly zone should also be made by the Security Council," Churkin told journalists in Brussels. "We will certainly work on this issue in close coordination with the Libyan authorities," he added.

On Friday, Churkin expressed hope that the resolution drafted by Russia would be passed "in the next few days," RIA Novosti reported.

The UN Security Council passed Resolution 1973 introducing a no-fly zone over Libya in March, a month after an uprising against Col. Muammar Gaddafi's authoritarian rule broke out in the North African country. The resolution authorized "all necessary measures" to protect Libyan civilians from attacks by pro-Gaddafi troops.