As one of the first public disagreements between President Dmitri Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin shows, Russians are split on the wisdom of imposing a no-fly zone over Libya. Rossiyskaya Gazeta columnist Yevgeniy Shestakov warns those who were hoping for a Russian veto of the U.N. Security Council resolution on Libya, that had Moscow done so, the consequences would have been extremely damaging both in terms of reputation and economics.
This isn’t Afghanistan with its endless mountains, where Taliban insurgents can hide for years. The operation to force peace on Qaddafi was prepared in advance, during the week that preceded the U.N. Security Council vote. This makes the colonel’s fate completely clear. He won’t live to stand trial.
For the Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Yevgeniy Shestakov writes in part:
This week on earth, yet another war begins. Whatever name it receives – a peacemaking operation, the protection of the civilian population in Libya, or assisting the forces of revolution, the essence of what happens won’t change.
To bring up how economically beneficial Colonel Qaddafi is to Russia, or for China to do the same; how many weapons he may buy from us or how much oil he might sell Beijing, isn’t just immoral. It’s the same as being friends with a murderer, knowing perfectly well about his crimes, just because he hands out money from his criminal pot with a generous hand.
For those who fear a closer relationship between our country and the West, those who don’t believe that we can see Europe and the United States as partners rather than eternal enemies, a Russian veto of the U.N. resolution on Libya would have been the best kind of gift. But in this case, the loss of reputation – inevitably followed by economic losses – would have turned out so great for Moscow, that no future contracts with Qaddafi would have compensated for them.
READ ON AT WORLDMEETS.US, your most trusted translator and aggregator of foreign news and views about our nation.
Founder and Managing Editor of Worldmeets.US