Replay of Libyan scenario in Syria would be major strategic mistake – Russian diplomat

MOSCOW. March 21 (Interfax) – A replay of the Libyan scenario by NATO forces in Syria would be a major strategic mistake, says Russian permanent representative to the EU Vladimir Chizhov.

“If this is an element of some political pressure, it is one situation, which I think is unlikely to help the cause. If this is serious, this is even worse. This would be a major strategic mistake,” Chizhov said in reply to a question from Interfax in Moscow on Thursday.

Adm. James Stavridis, the commander of the U.S. European Command (USEUCOM), suggested recently that the NATO members were preparing plans of military operations to end the civil war in Syria.

“We are prepared, if called upon, to be engaged as we were in Libya,” Stavridis said while speaking at the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee.

Chizhov said also that “the implementation of France’s and the United Kindgom’s initiative on lifting the European Union’s arms embargo (from Syria) would also be a mistake.”