UN extends Libya mission after US-Russia clash

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council  has voted unanimously to extend the U.N. political mission in Libya for three months, with the United States and Britain accusing Russia of blocking a longer and more substantive mandate that would include promoting reconciliation of the country’s rival governments now claiming power. Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Moscow insisted on a three-month extension to pressure U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to urgently appoint a new envoy to head the mission. U.S. deputy ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis countered Friday that a short mandate “severely complicates” the U.N.’s ability to recruit a new head of for the mission