France failed Tuesday to get support for a "no-fly" zone over Libya from the Group of Eight nations meeting in Paris.
A two-day meeting of the G8 foreign ministers ended without agreement on establishing a no-fly zone against Libya, with reservations expressed by Russia and Germany. The flight restrictions had been pushed by France and Britain, but even before the meeting ended, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe acknowledged that support was far from unanimous.
In an interview on France's Europe 1 radio, Juppe said that if such a no-fly zone had been agreed to last week, the Libyan opposition might not have experienced its recent setbacks against the forces of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
But he said G8 ministers had agreed to relaunch discussions at the United Nations on ways to increase pressure against the Gadhafi government, including a possible air exclusion zone.
But German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle described any military intervention as difficult and dangerous. Westerwelle said a no-fly zone amounted to military intervention, and the international community had to be careful not to provoke the opposite effect of what it intended.
Libyan rebels gain diplomatic advance, but retreat on battlefield
Gadhafi, rebels battle on military, diplomatic fronts
US, NATO weighing legality of no-fly zone
Gadhafi forces gain ground at oil port
(來(lái)源:VOA 編輯:崔旭燕)