Libya's foreign minister defects, arrives in Britain

 LONDON (Reuters) – Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa, one of Muammar Gaddafi's closest advisers and a former spy chief, flew to Britain on Wednesday and a close friend said he defected because of attacks by Gaddafi forces on civilians

Disagreement over arming the rebels battling Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi emerged yesterday with at least three of the countries enforcing the no-fly zone over the country opposing the idea.
Russia also criticised the proposal, amid dissent within Nato over the conduct of the whole Libyan operation.
Meanwhile, Coalition military strikes on Libya could violate the "intention" of the UN resolution if civilians suffer, Chinese President Hu Jintao yesterday told visiting French leader Nicolas Sarkozy.
The tough talk from Hu came during a meeting at the start of Sarkozy's mini-tour of Asia, which will include a G20 meeting on global monetary reform and a stop in disaster-struck Japan.
Britain, France and the United States on March 19 launched air strikes on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces under the auspices of a UN Security Council resolution authorising "all necessary measures" to protect civilians.
"The aim of the UN's resolution is to stop violence and protect civilians," China Central Television quoted Hu as saying in talks with Sarkozy at the Great Hall of the People in the heart of Beijing.
"If the military action brings disaster to innocent civilians and creates a bigger humanitarian crisis, that would violate the original intention of the Security Council resolution," Hu said.
"China disapproves of using military force in international affairs."
Both France and the United States have raised the possibility of arming the rebels though critics have said such a move would go beyond the terms of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which provides for the protection of civilians.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Tuesday that Paris was prepared to discuss with its allies the supply of military aid to the rebels.
Speaking at an international conference in London, Juppe conceded that that arming or training the rebels was not covered by two UN Security Council resolutions on Libya in recent weeks.
"This is not allowed by either Resolution 1973 or Resolution 1970. For the time being, France is sticking to the strict application of these resolutions," he said.
"Having said that, we are prepared to discuss this with our partners," he told reporters after the conference to map out Libya's future, which concluded that Gaddafi should step down.
British Prime Minister David Cameron refused yesterday to rule out arming the rebels.
Asked in parliament what Britain's policy was Cameron replied: "We do not rule it out but we have not taken the decision to do so."
The British hosts of the meeting and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had both said the issue of arming the rebels was not discussed at the London talks.
US President Barack Obama says the aim of the mission is not to oust Gaddafi by force, although he said Tuesday that he was confident the Libyan leader would "ultimately step down."
But Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told CNN that the mission's aim is to shield civilians, not arm the rebellion.
"The UN mandate authorises the enforcement of an arms embargo," Rasmussen told the US news network on Monday. "We are not in Libya to arm people, but to protect people."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday said Moscow believed that foreign powers did not have the right to arm Libyan rebels under the mandate approved by the UN Security Council "and here, we completely agree with the Nato Secretary General."
Norway, which has provided six F-16s to enforce the no-fly zone, also ruled out arming the rebels, with Defence Minister Grete Faremo saying on a visit to the aircrew in Crete that such a move was "not on the agenda."
Belgium voiced its opposition yesterday, warning that the move could alienate Arab nations.Denmark was also against arming the rebels.
Germany and Turkey have not hidden their reservations about the whole Libyan operation, with Germany refusing to take part.

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