France Approves Release of Libyan Assets

The French foreign minister, Alain Juppe, said on Thursday that France has approved the release of 1.5 billion euros ($2.16 billion) in frozen Libyan assets to help the National Transitional Council rebuild the country after the fall of Muammar Qaddafi.

However, he was unaware of a deal between the two parties that would give France with a large amount of Libyan oil.

In addition, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton spoke ahead of a conference in Paris to discuss the situation in Libya.

''The third aspect is economic, the support not just to ensure that the sanctions of course get removed and the assets are unfrozen but to support the economy back into full activity and that also means looking at the return of workers who have left, who have been a core part of that economy. And then of course democracy and the building of civil society and the support through the process of constitutional elections, all of which we will be willing to engage in," said Ashton.

Moreover, Algeria's foreign minister, Mourad Medelci, denied that Colonel Qaddafi is seeking refuge in his country.

On the same day, Britain's Royal Air Force sent batches of newly printed bank notes to Libya, valued at $227 million, to kickstart infrastructural reform after more than 6 months of unrest.

"This is as much as we can get on this flight, which is a huge military flight as you can see. And I'm really pleased as this is coming now on Eid al-Fitr, because this is a fantastic Eid present for the Libyan people and from the Libyan people, because this money belong to the Libyan people," said Sir John Jenkins, British ambassador to Benghazi.

"So it is very important for paying salaries, which is the most important thing. People in the liberated city did not have salaries for over two months now and we need some cash for fixing some hospitals and some security places and several other things for the activities in several cities," said Qassem Azzoz, governor of the Libyan bank.

This shipment, originally ordered by Qaddafi, was halted in March as part efforts to force Qaddafi stop crackdowns on protesters.

Speakers:

Catherine Ashton - EU Foreign Policy Chief
Sir John Jenkins - British ambassador to Benghazi
Qassem Azzoz - Governor of Libyan Bank