Excessive force in solving problem of illegal migration in Mediterranean unacceptable - Deputy Foreign Minister Gatilov
MOSCOW. April 29 (Interfax) - Moscow considers it excessive to destroy or disable boats carrying illegal migrants, and claims that too much enthusiasm about forceful methods of resolving this problem in the Mediterranean Sea is unacceptable.
"Destroying or disabling ships is excessive, and they are unlikely to help attain the set objectives. In fact, too much enthusiasm about forceful aspects of resolving problem of illegal migration in the Mediterranean is unacceptable since it entails unpredictable consequences," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told Interfax.
He was commenting on the European Union's idea of fighting illegal migration, including by detaining and destroying vessels carrying illegal migrants.
"We already know what happened in the recent past in Libya, for example, because one of the conditions for conducting any operation involving forcible or forceful actions must be an approval of the states that have jurisdiction over the vessels," Gatilov said.
French President Francois Hollande said earlier that Paris is planning to propose a draft UN resolution that allows destroying smuggler boats.
So far this initiative is just a proposal, Gatilov said.
"So far it exists as an idea, but we have seen no concrete text of this resolution, no concrete wordings. We think we are ready to work on this issue within the UN Security Council but we maintain that all steps must be thoroughly verified and calculated from the standpoint of international law," the deputy minister said.
"At this point, voting (in the UN Security Council) is not a question at all," he said.
