Foreign Secretary discusses Libya and Cote d바카라 사이트™Ivoire
Foreign Secretary William Hague today discussed the latest developments in Libya and Cote d바카라 사이트™Ivoire on the Andrew Marr Show.
On Libya he made clear there will be no ground invasion of the country. He said:
바카라 사이트śWe바카라 사이트™re sticking very closely here to the United Nations resolution바카라 사이트¦ which makes very clear there must be no foreign occupation of any part of Libya and we will stick to that. There have already been circumstances in which we바카라 사이트™ve sent small special forces in to Libya. We rescued people from the desert a few weeks ago as you will remember through doing that. So circumstances can arise where limit, such limited operations take place, but there is going to be no large scale ground force placed in Libya by the United Kingdom.바카라 사이트ť
He also reiterated that there had been no decision to arm rebels in Libya noting:
바카라 사이트śWe have taken no decision to arm the rebels, the opposition, the pro democracy people, whatever one wants to call them and I바카라 사이트™m not aware of any of our allies taking the decision to do that. What we are engaged in is protecting the civilian population in Libya, which we have done with a lot of success바카라 사이트¦ when people look at what we바카라 사이트™re doing in Libya they do have to look at what would be happening if we didn바카라 사이트™t do what we바카라 사이트™d done over the last few weeks and it would have been a catastrophic situation.바카라 사이트ť
The Foreign Secretary confirmed that he had spoken to Musa Kusa since his resignation and added that Musa Kusa was not under arrest and had arrived in the UK of his own free. He said:
바카라 사이트śI have spoken to him briefly, and I spoke to him regularly when he was in Tripoli so it would be very odd if I didn바카라 사이트™t speak to him now. I welcomed the fact that he had left the Gaddafi regime. I said I thought that was the right thing to do. I asked him to have discussions with my officials, which is indeed what he is now doing.바카라 사이트ť
바카라 사이트śI formed the view over quite a few conversations with him when he was still in place as Libyan Foreign Minister that he was very distressed by what was happening in Libya, that he wanted to see a peaceful solution, that he was very deeply concerned about what바카라 사이트™s happening to the people of Libya. And I think when somebody like that says they want to get out then it would be quite wrong to say no you바카라 사이트™ve got to stay there.바카라 사이트ť
He also reiterated that Musa Kusa would not be offered immunity from prosecution and set out why it was a good thing that Musa Kusa had chosen to come to the UK. He said that he intended to give a statement to Parliament tomorrow and said:
바카라 사이트śThe Prime Minister and I have made clear there바카라 사이트™s no immunity from prosecution, there will be no immunity. He hasn바카라 사이트™t asked for that. There isn바카라 사이트™t a deal. I know there were reports in one or two papers today of a deal. There is no deal. All he asked for was to be able to come here. He chose to come to the United Kingdom of his own free will. It is a good thing that he has left this despotic murderous regime because it weakens that regime. It바카라 사이트™s a good thing we바카라 사이트™re able to discuss with him the situation in, in Libya and the Middle East with of course all his experience of it. And it is a good thing, where the, the Crown Office in Scotland wish to talk to him about what바카라 사이트™s happened in the past, such as at Lockerbie, well then my officials are discussing with the Crown Office tomorrow how to go about that.바카라 사이트ť
Finally on Libya the Foreign Secretary emphasised that the International Community supported Libya바카라 사이트™s territorial integrity. He said:
바카라 사이트śThe whole international community supports the territorial integrity of Libya and it바카라 사이트™s very much the desire of the opposition in Libya to have a united country. I think it바카라 사이트™s very much the desire of most people in the regime actually from talking to Musa Kusa in the past, so that바카라 사이트™s not where people in Libya want to go. And let바카라 사이트™s be clear that if the Libyan regime tries to hang on in this situation they are internationally isolated, they can바카라 사이트™t sell any oil, there is no way forward for them, there is no future for Libya on that basis. And so I think even the prospect of a kind of stalemate that you바카라 사이트™re talking about could encourage people in Tripoli to think well Colonel Gaddafi has now got to go.바카라 사이트ť
On Cote d바카라 사이트™Ivoire the Foreign Secretary also made clear that the International Community has been working to support African nations in ending the violence and resolving the current crisis. He said:
바카라 사이트śWe바카라 사이트™ve been working in the European Union and the United Nations to tighten the sanctions on Mr Gbagbo, the defeated President who refuses to leave, which is what, what has caused this violence. So we are involved in what is happening in Cote d바카라 사이트™Ivoire.바카라 사이트ť
바카라 사이트śHere the African Union have taken a lead and the West African states in particular have taken a lead and they want to be in lead. It바카라 사이트™s a different case from Libya where the Arab league called on the world, called on the United Nations to become involved and to save civilians from being attacked by the Gaddafi regime. In Cote d바카라 사이트™Ivoire it바카라 사이트™s very much the mood of the African nations that they should be in the lead. But as in Libya we call on people to desist from crimes and abuses, it바카라 사이트™s important the International Criminal Court is able to examine in the future what has happened in Cote d바카라 사이트™Ivoire and we renew our call for Gbagbo to get out which would stop this violence.바카라 사이트ť
Diplomatic team visits Benghazi
Separately, a Foreign Office spokesperson today said:
바카라 사이트śA further diplomatic team led by Christopher Prentice arrived in Benghazi on 2 April to engage with key figures including the Interim National Council. It will build on the work of the previous team and seek to establish further information about the INC, its aims and more broadly what is happening in Libya바카라 사이트ť.