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French FM flies to NY for UN resolution on Libya

18 March 2011 02:00 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe is going to New York where the United Nations is weighing a draft resolution on Libya, according to the ministry, the French Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, APA reports quoting Xinhua News Agency.

The ministry underlined in a statement the urgency to stop Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s cracking down against the remaining rebels and repeated the France-Britain call of military intervention besides economic sanctions.

"Given the urgency is there for the Libyan people, especially in Benghazi, Alain Juppe decided to go to New York to obtain, as soon as possible, the voting on this resolution," the statement said.

France believed that the UN resolution would authorize a no-fly zone and allow foreign forces with the support of concerned Arab countries to carry out "an operation within several hours," sources from the foreign ministry was quoted by local media as saying.

French UN Ambassador Gerard Araud said France wants the resolution to be settled down by GMT 2200.

Two days ago, at a Paris meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of Eight, ministers of France and Britain failed to convince other members to get a unanimous voice on the proposal of no-fly zone. Germany has expressed disagreement on the plan besides obvious reservation from Russia.