Russia questions NATO attack on Gadhafi

MOSCOW - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that NATO actions should be analyzed "in terms of their compliance with international law" after former Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi reportedly died of wounds on Thursday after being captured.

In an interview with Russia's three leading radios, Lavrov said Gadhafi "lost his legitimacy long ago" but noted that the circumstances of Gadhafi's death should be clarified.

"The way of his death left numbers of questions ... We need to analyze NATO actions in terms of their compliance with international law," Lavrov said.

"We remember NATO states, when they began to implement resolutions of the (UN) Security Council, were claiming that their goal was to protect civilians but not specifically to remove Gadhafi and the regime must be changed in a natural way by Libyan people themselves," Lavrov said.

"Now they are talking differently," he added.

Lavrov also talked about NATO's reportedly attack on Gadhafi's convoy, saying the operation exceeded UN mandates that authorized a no-fly zone over Libya.

"There is no link between a no-fly zone and ground targets, including this convoy," Lavrov said, adding that especially "as in this specific case one cannot speak of protecting the lives of civilians because the convoy was not attacking anyone."

In addition, Lavrov said Moscow hopes that the Libyan authorities will build relations with Russia on the basis of former agreements and treaties.

"We want to build relations with respect to treaties and agreements our countries reached before," Lavrov said, adding that representatives from Libya's ruling National Transitional Council "have clearly reiterated their commitment to this logic."