Italy urges arming anti-Gaddafi forces

Wed Apr 13, 2011

Italy has called on the international community to arm Libyan revolutionaries in efforts to aid their fight against the country's embattled ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

"The discussion about arming the rebels is definitely on the table ... to defend themselves," AFP quoted Italian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maurizio Massari as saying on Wednesday.

Massari stressed that the measure is not against UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1973, which states that "all necessary measures" should be used to protect civilians.

His comments come as members of the Libya Contact Group gather in Qatar's capital of Doha for talks on the Libyan conflict.

"We want some sort of oil-for-food program like in Iraq," Massari explained.

But Belgium's foreign minister said his country was opposed to the plan and that arms were not covered by UNSC Resolution 1973.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle also lent voice to his Belgian counterpart, saying that he sees no military solution to the crisis in Libya.

Meanwhile, Gaddafi's former allies, the United States, Britain, France, Canada, Denmark and Belgium have launched airstrikes on Libya since March 19, under the same mandate.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/174588.html.