Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, has been barely holding on to control of that nation for several months, despite wide spread calls for his removal. There had been some interludes toward Russia as the last hope for remaining in power. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has decried the NATO missions over Tripoli and other Libyan cities in recent weeks as a “deviation” from what as okayed by the UN Security Council.

Now Medvedev has called for Gaddafi to step aside in accordance with the end of the Group of Eight Summit which had been held in Deauville, France. That summit, which included representatives from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy and Russian, ended with not only written statements expressing support for the democratic uprisings in both the Middle East and North Africa but a unanimous call for Gaddafi to step aside.

A few weeks ago, Gaddafi and others in his regime reached out to Russia to help the country achieve a ceasefire in the war that has been ongoing. Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov has asked that the embattled leader step down and that Libya finally comply with the Security Council mandate to stop any action that could harm civilians. But, according to all members of the G8 summit, Gaddafi has to go before any negotiations or cease fire will be discussed at all.

Russian leaders had previously stated that the NATO sanctioned bombing of Tripoli were beyond the scope of what was allowed by that organization. Continued fighting in the country have left many injured or dead. The most recent fighting left ten people dead and over forty others injured.

NATO jets destroyed eight warships in the cities of Tripoli, Al-Khums and Sirte. Those ships were sank because they had been reportedly used in action against civilians and were also being used to plant mines in the waters off the shore of Misrata. NATO felt that the missions had become necessary because of suspected attacks on civilians as well as supposed disruption of humanitarian aid.

The jets had been called out in response to heavy shelling along the Tunisian border where an unknown number of refugees have been gathered. That area is critical to the flow of aid, including medical supplies and food but had been closed because of the shelling.

NATO forces have flown nearly 150 flights over Libya, taking out several key targets in addition to the warships that were sank. An erroneous report stated that Gaddafi himself had been injured in one of those missions, but official statements denied that.

Russia was likely Gaddafi’s last resort for any hope of remaining in power in that country, but that hope has now been shot down.