Washington's Middle East mistakes result from disrespect for international law: Moscow

A Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman has slammed the United States for disrespecting international law, which has led to "mistakes" by Washington in the Middle East and adjacent regions.

"The problem is in the absence of the legal basis for actions," said Maria Zakharova on her Facebook page on Monday, commenting on the recent statement of U.S. President Barack Obama who confessed that his worst mistake during the presidency was a lack of planning for the aftermath of the toppling of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The United States, firstly, violated international law and varnished its actions by information campaigns. A few years later, when the luster fades and ceases to dazzle the eye, everybody will see the ruins of another state, while Washington calls it a mistake, and labels some other countries as aggressors, Zakharova said.

"Probably failing to plan for the day after what I think was the right thing to do in intervening in Libya," Obama said in an interview with the Fox News TV channel aired on Sunday.

As the Arab Spring revolts spread to Libya, the United Nations Security Council approved in March 2011 the establishment of a no-fly zone to protect civilians from air attacks.

In the months that followed, the U.S.-led NATO forces started their military campaigns in Libya, providing support to Libyan rebel forces.

Zakharova said the United States had acted in the same manner in Afghanistan and Iraq as it did in Libya, adding that Moscow was witnessing a similar scheme in Syria. Endi