Military action would need UN & Arabs support: EU

The European Union said it is keeping the military option open to protect the population in Libya but any action would need the backing of the United Nations and the Arab League.

Delegates at Friday's summit of EU government leaders also expressed political backing for Libya's opposition council but stopped short of the diplomatic recognition given the council Thursday by France.

France and Britain had pushed to maintain the military option in the face of continued fighting in Libya and the threat of more violence by the forces of strongman Muammar Gaddafi.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said after EU talks that the European Union leaders have backed the creation of humanitarian aid zones to help Libyans, first in neighboring countries but also within Libya.

"The Council (EU summit) has decided that the European Union will allow humanitarian agencies and actors access to humanitarian zones, in places that we did not specify, to deal with displaced persons, at first in Tunisia and Egypt," Sarkozy told a news conference.

"We would like these humanitarian zones to then exist in Libya to deal with the tens of thousands of displaced people."

He said France had always ruled out military intervention on the ground but said the military option should be considered if civilians were targeted.

"Nobody wants it, but it is clear that Europe is sending a message and did not want to exclude this option," he said.

Sarkozy said a statement from EU leaders expressed "extreme concern" about air attacks by Gaddafi forces on rebels "and says that to protect the civilian population the member states will consider all the necessary options."

"And you understand that all the options considered by the member states in this case are not all diplomatic," he added.

He said Libyan leader Gaddafi must go and the rebel Libyan National Council was considered by the European Union as the legitimate political representatives of the Libyan people.

Sarkozy said there were plans to call a summit of EU, Arab and African leaders in the coming weeks on Libya.

Germany and Britain

Chancellor Angela Merkel joined the summit calling for the 27-nation bloc to speak with a single voice on Libya.

Berlin too is at loggerheads with Paris over Sarkozy's unilateral recognition Thursday of Gaddafi opponents as Libya's rightful representatives -- making France the first and so far only country to take that stand.

"I advise everyone to look very closely to see if these people who say they represent the people are really speaking in the name of the people," said German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.

"Certain members of the opposition were until recently members of the Gaddafi regime," he warned.

Though economic powerhouse Germany remains France's staunchest partner in the ongoing campaign to save the euro, Sarkozy's chosen ally in the battle against Gaddafi is Europe's other major military player, Britain.

Britain and France have joined in calls to their partners to recognize Gaddafi's opponents and have a joint resolution ready to go before the U.N. Security Council to impose a no-fly zone over Libya.

But a European diplomat who requested anonymity said there had never been any question of unilateral joint strikes between Paris and London. "There has been no talk of Franco-British targeted action."

Clear political message

"Before any military step we must send very clear political messages and I expect today's meeting of heads of state and prime ministers, that is, the extraordinary summit of the European Council, to do just that," Janos Martonyi earlier told Hungarian public radio MR1-Kossuth in an interview.

"The essence of the political message is that Gaddafi must quit and the conditions for a democratic transition to begin in Libya must be created," he said.

Hungary holds the EU's rotating presidency.

Martonyi added that extra sanctions could include freezing the assets of Libyan oil and gas producer and export companies.

"It cannot be ruled out that depending on the developments, which are not really favourable as a matter of fact, there will be further sanctions ... (including) ... freezing the assets of companies involved in oil and gas production and exports."

Martonyi also said efforts must be redoubled to provide humanitarian aid and evacuation.

"One thing is for certain, whatever happens, we must work in the closest possible coordination with Arab countries."

Arab League

A Libyan delegation dispatched by Gaddafi arrived in Cairo on Friday, aiming to attend an Arab League meeting on the Libya crisis, officials in Cairo airport and the Libyan embassy said.

The Arab League has suspended the Tripoli government in protest at its handling of the uprising against Gaddafi and it was not clear if the Libyans would be admitted to the meeting scheduled for Saturday at the body's Cairo headquarters.

The officials said the delegation was headed by Umran Abu-Kra'a, who they identified as the minister of electricity.

It also included Salma Rashid, appointed by Gaddafi to replace the Libyan Arab League representative who was one of the many Libyan diplomats around the world to abandon the Tripoli government in protest at its handling of the uprising.

Gulf Arab states -- all members of the Arab League -- said on Thursday Gaddafi's government was no longer legitimate.

The Gulf Cooperation Council called on the Arab League to take measures to stop the bloodshed in Libya, including the imposition of a no-fly zone to protect civilians.

African Union

The African Union, long courted by Gaddafi, rejected foreign intervention, but said it was sending a delegation of five heads of state to Libya soon to try to arrange a truce.

In practice, any military action will require the participation of the United States which, along with NATO, has expressed doubt over the wisdom of imposing no-fly zones without full international backing and a legal justification.

U.S. National Intelligence chief James Clapper said Gaddafi was "in this for the long haul" and was likely to prevail.

Malta's refusal

Meanwhile, Malta has refused a proposal from the Libyan government to act as a mediator with the European Union, Maltese Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said in comments published on Friday.

"We told the Libyans straight and plain that, at this stage, there is no mediation to do," Gonzi, who met with a Libyan envoy in Malta on Wednesday, was quoted as saying to European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

"The Libyan authorities have to listen to the wishes of the people," he said.

European leaders were meeting in Brussels on Friday for a crisis summit on Libya. An EU source said the bloc had received no request to date for talks with an envoy from Gaddafii.

Libya's Undersecretary for International Co-operation Mohammed Taher Siyala flew to Malta on Wednesday for a meeting with Gonzi. He then flew on to Portugal for a brief meeting with Foreign Minister Luis Amado.

Siyala visited "the Maltese prime minister to explain the Libyan government's position on the recent events," the Maltese government said earlier in a statement following the talks on Wednesday.

"The prime minister reiterated the Maltese government's position... and insisted that all violence has to stop immediately," it added.