The United Nations Security Council resolution on Libya was adopted too hastily, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said on Wednesday.
The UN Security Council imposed a no-fly zone over Libya last Friday, allowing "all necessary measures" to protect civilians from leader Muammar Gaddafi's attacks on rebel-held towns.
"Additional time would have enabled us to more thoroughly and carefully consider all provisions of the Security Council's resolution and more closely determine the position of the UN Security Council," Gatilov said.
Leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom and France have agreed in a phone conversation that NATO should take the key role in the military operation in Libya.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton confirmed on Tuesday that such discussions are ongoing.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that NATO finished its planning on the no-fly zone and arms embargo enforcement in Libya and all members of the alliance were "committed to meet their responsibilities under the United Nations resolution to stop the intolerable violence against Libyan civilians."
The U.S. imposed unilateral sanctions on 14 Libyan companies owned by Libya's National Oil Corporation, which it sees as "the centerpiece of Libya's state-owned oil apparatus" and "a primary funding source for the Gaddafi regime."
Libyan state television has reported that at least 60 civilians have been killed and over 150 wounded in continuing allied airstrikes.
MOSCOW, March 23 (RIA Novosti)
