MOSCOW. April 6 (Interfax) - The Russian president's special envoy for Africa has suggested that Russia act as a mediator in the Libyan conflict.
"De facto, the coalition has taken the side of the rebels, who cannot be considered civilians because they are armed. Russia has taken a correct stand, and it can lay claim to mediation in this conflict and demand a ceasefire and compliance with [UN Security Council] Resolution 1973," Mikhail Margelov, the Kremln envoy for Africa and chairman of the Federation Council International Affairs Committee, told Interfax.
"Russia criticizes [the resolution] for its hazy formulas," he said.
Margelov argued the conflict is resolvable through talks. "It's another matter that there needs to be a special approach to each African or Middle Eastern country," he added.
"So some other ways of settlement than bombings are possible in Libya. It's another matter that [Libyan dictator Muammar] Gaddafi is an interesting person and he has only begun to send his emissaries to Europe now that he is in a trap," Margelov said.
He also pointed out that there is ongoing unrest in Syria, Jordan and Yemen, and that there have been demonstrations in Iran. "If there is a full-scale civil war in Yemen, there will be a direct threat to peace in Saudi Arabia, one of its immediate neighbors, and that would undermine all American geopolitics in the Middle East," he said.
He argued that the current unrest in Arab countries might result in their movement toward Islamism, one reason being that militants from international militant network Al Qaeda are fighting on the side of the Libyan rebels.