UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday stressed the need to comply with UN mandates in international operations involving the use of military force.

"The president emphasized our consistent, immutable position in support of the UN and the consistent strengthening of the legal foundations of its activity on the basis of strict observance of the organization's charter," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after the meeting.

Ban, on the second day of his three-day visit to Russia, and Medvedev agreed that it was necessary to formulate UN mandates more clearly, Lavrov said.

They discussed the situation in Libya, Yemen, Ivory Coast and other areas.

The UN chief said he counted on Russian support in dealing with global and regional conflicts, including the one in Libya.

Medvedev reiterated Moscow's position on the Libyan conflict, calling for a diplomatic solution.

He said last week that Russia had a number of serious questions to the UN over attempts by certain countries to act beyond the bounds of international mandates and interpret UN resolutions arbitrarily, in particular Resolution 1973 on Libya.

Russia abstained from the vote authorizing the military operation in Libya and expressed concern over the excessive use of force.

GORKI (Moscow region), April 22 (RIA Novosti)