LOC18:35
15:35 GMT
PARIS, July 22 (KUNA) - French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe will hold talks
Monday in London with his British counterpart William Hague, diplomats said
here Friday.
The talks are expected to focus on the ongoing conflict in Libya, where the
French and British air forces are playing a leading role in attacks against
forces loyal to the Libyan government.
France has already acknowledged it provides for 30 percent of the air
operations in Libya and Britain is believed to pick up another substantial
portion of the NATO interventions.
France and Britain were also crucial actors in getting the adoption of a UN
Security Council resolution last March to permit "all measures" to be used to
protect Libyan civilians from attack by the forces controlled by Libyan leader
Muammer Gaddafi.
Both Juppe and Hague have said that Gaddafi must leave power to pave the
way for reconciliation and the formation of a new government in Libya, one
that would have a strong participation by the National Transition Council
(NTC).
France is the key backer of the NTC and was first to recognize that body as
the "legitimate holder of government authority."
France has also delivered weapons to the Libyan opposition on a small
scale, but this act has been challenged by opponents of the campaign as a
breach of UN Security Council resolutions which call for a full arms embargo
on the North African country.
Both Britain and France have deployed attack helicopters in Libya to
bolster operations against more mobile Gaddafi forces that have managed to
evade complex air strikes.
Earlier this week, in an apparent easing of the French position, Juppe said
that Gaddafi could be allowed to stay in his country as long as he renounced
all political and military power and a future role in politics.
Defence Minister Gerard Longuet also stated here earlier that Gaddafi was
losing control of his oil sector and was losing substantial income after
opposition rebels took control of important oil facilities in their progress
to the capital, Tripoli. (End)
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KUNA 221835 Jul 11NNNN