Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


France First to Formally Recognize Libyan Opposition

   VOA News  March 10, 2011
   French  President  Nicolas  Sarkozy,  left,  shakes hands with Mahmoud
   Jibril,  right,  and Ali Al-Esawi, representatives of the newly formed
   council  based in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, after a meeting
   at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, March 10, 2011

Photo: AP

   French  President  Nicolas  Sarkozy,  left,  shakes hands with Mahmoud
   Jibril,  right,  and Ali Al-Esawi, representatives of the newly formed
   council  based in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, after a meeting
   at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, March 10, 2011

   France   is  formally  recognizing  the  Libyan  opposition's  Interim
   Governing  Council  as  the  "legitimate" representative of the Libyan
   people - the first country to do so.
   France  said  Thursday  it  plans  to  exchange  ambassadors  with the
   council, based in the eastern city of Benghazi. Rebels took control of
   the city in a deadly uprising against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
   The  French announcement comes as NATO members begin two days of talks
   on  Libya to discuss the possibility of imposing a no-fly zone to stop
   air attacks by pro-Gadhafi forces.
   U.S.  Defense  Secretary  Robert  Gates  is  attending  the  talks  in
   Brussels.  A  senior  U.S. official says Gates will tell the ministers
   about U.S. preparations for possible emergency response operations and
   humanitarian relief in Libya.
   Western officials have expressed concern that a no-fly zone over Libya
   would  have  a  limited  impact  on  stopping  the  violence. But NATO
   diplomats  say  there  is strong support for such a move if the Libyan
   government escalates attacks on civilians.
   European  Union  ministers  are  also  meeting  in Brussels to discuss
   Libya. Â
   The  Libyan deputy foreign minister, Mohamed Tahir Siala, is in Athens
   Thursday   discussing  Libya's  crisis  with  his  Greek  counterpart,
   Dimitris  Dollis,  ahead of the EU meeting. The Greek foreign ministry
   says  the  meeting  in  Athens was approved by EU foreign policy chief
   Catherine Ashton.
   Diplomats from Portugal have held similar talks with Libyan officials.
   Britain   and   France   are  drafting  a  United  Nations  resolution
   authorizing a no-fly zone. Top advisers to U.S. President Barack Obama
   met  Wednesday to assess the situation in Libya and consider remaining
   options,  including  the option of working with international partners
   to impose a no-fly zone.
   Gadhafi has said Libyans would take up arms against Western nations if
   they imposed such a zone.
   Also  Thursday,  Russia  announced  it  will  ban all weapons sales to
   Libya.
   And  Germany  has  ordered  a  freeze on all bank accounts held by the
   Libyan central bank and the Libyan Investment Authority.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
   Follow our Middle East reports on [1]Twitter
   and discuss them on our [2]Facebook page.

References

   1. http://twitter.com/VOAMidEast
   2. http://www.facebook.com/pages/VOAMiddleEastVoices/124360240958667?    v=wall

.