Russia said yesterday any UN Security Council resolution allowing for the use of force in the Mediterranean to stop gangs smuggling migrants must define the powers of an EU naval mission precisely to win Moscow’s backing.

The EU has agreed a mission to target gangs bringing people from Libya as part of a plan to deal with the influx of migrants to the bloc, but requires a UN mandate to be able to intervene in Libyan territorial waters.

Speaking alongside Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni, whose country is one of the migrants’ most popular destinations, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was cautious about any resolution that is proposed under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which allows the use of force to restore international peace and security.

Lavrov cautious about any resolution allowing use of force

“If such a proposal is made, we will have to write down in the most minute detail the mandate of such a mission under Chapter 7,” Lavrov told a joint news conference after talks with Gentiloni.

“We don’t want a repeat of the ambiguity that was used for gross abuse of the Libya resolution adopted in 2011.”

Russia, which has the power of veto as a permanent member of the Security Council, accuses the West of abusing a 2011 resolution authorising Nato intervention in Libya to help forcibly topple longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Libya has descended into chaos nearly four years after the fall of Gaddafi, creating havens for Islamist militants and traffickers.

Lavrov said discussions in the Security Council on the new resolution against human traffickers were on hold as the EU was in talks with the recognised Libyan authorities in Tobruk.