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U.S. pledges to protect Libyan embassy in Washington

06 August 2011 00:32 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The U.S. government will protect the Libyan embassy and its personnel in Washington, the State Department said in a statement Friday, after handing over the embassy to the Libyan rebel-formed Transitional National Council this Tuesday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The statement affirmed that the U.S. government "takes seriously" its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

It will also "take all appropriate steps to protect the premises of foreign diplomatic missions and their personnel in the United States," the statement continued.

The State Department pledged to "work closely" with the U.S. Secret Service and local law enforcements to ensure that "an appropriate level of security is afforded to the Libyan Embassy and mission personnel."

The Libyan embassy was closed down in Washington after the U.S. embassy in Tripoli shut down in February.

The State Department, last month, recognized the National Transitional Council, Libya’s main opposition group, as the sole and legitimate interlocutor of the Libyan people.