NATO is ready to back up the international coalition intervening in Libya within "a few days," French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Monday.
NATO is ready to back up the international coalition intervening in
Libya
within "a few days," French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Monday.
"The coordination of the intervention is being conducted by the
United
States
in tight collaboration with
France
and
Britain
,"
Juppe told reporters on the sidelines of an European Union foreign ministers
meeting in
Brussels
.
While NATO allies debated at a separate meeting what role the alliance may take
in the conflict, Juppe said "NATO is willing to come in support (of the
operation) within a few days."
He described the air and sea strikes carried out by the international coalition
over the weekend as a success.
"The initial success of our intervention is clear," Juppe told
journalists. "If we had done nothing,
Benghazi
would
be a bloodbath."
"We saved the civilians of
Benghazi
,"
he said of strikes against troops loyal to Moammar Gadhafi who had appeared
poised to march on the eastern Libyan town, a rebel stronghold.
France
,
whose fighter jets launched the first salvos in the campaign against Gadhafi on
Saturday, has resisted handing the baton to NATO, fearing a backlash from the
Arab world if the alliance intervenes.
Turkey
, an
influential Muslim-majority member of NATO, has also displayed little
enthusiasm for letting the alliance intervene.
Ankara
effectively delayed a NATO decision on
participating in the UN-mandated no-fly zone when its ambassador called for a
review of alliance plans on Sunday.
Envoys of the 28-nation military organization resumed talks on Monday.
Διαβάστε ακόμα
Τρι, 24 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 19:58
Τρι, 24 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 19:54
Τετ, 18 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 18:32
Τετ, 18 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 18:27
Τρι, 17 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 20:01