Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has given no instructions to call an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council for discussions on the NATO-led military operation in Libya, his aide said, despite reports of appeals from Tripoli.
NATO has been enforcing a UN resolution to protect civilians in Libya since mid-March. The alliance has stepped up airstrikes around Tripoli and four other major cities in recent days.
"At the moment, the president has given no instructions to initiate an emergency Security Council meeting on Libya," presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko told journalists.
Prikhodko's statement came hours after a report by Libyan state-run JANA news agency that Tripoli had urged Russia, a permanent Security Council member, to call the meeting.
Earlier on Tuesday, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sharply criticized NATO's military actions in Libya, saying the North African state was being illegally destroyed by "so-called civilized society."
MOSCOW, April 27 (RIA Novosti)
