SUMMIT OF LEADERS:EUROPEAN, AMERICAN and Arab leaders will attend an emergency summit in Paris today to discuss action against Libya after the French government said air strikes could be mounted at any moment.
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, German chancellor Angela Merkel and British prime minister David Cameron are due to attend, as are UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon, European council president Herman Van Rompuy and officials from the Arab League and African Union.
French foreign minister Alain Juppé said last night that “everything is ready” for a military intervention after the UN security council’s adoption of a resolution permitting a no-fly zone and other steps to protect civilians in Libya. The Paris summit would be an opportunity to analyse Col Gadafy’s ceasefire declaration and “draw the consequences”, he said.
France and Britain, which are expected to take lead roles in any operation, reacted cautiously to the ceasefire declaration, with Mr Carmeron saying Col Gadafy would be judged “by his actions, not his words”.
“What is absolutely clear is the UN Security Council resolution said he must stop what he is doing, brutalising his people,” Mr Cameron said. “If not, all necessary measures can follow to make him stop.”
In Paris, a foreign ministry spokesman said the ceasefire had not removed the threat to civilians. “We have to be very cautious. He is now starting to be afraid, but on the ground the threat has not changed,” the spokesman said. There was speculation last night that French and British aircraft could be sent to fly over Libya before today’s talks as a political message to Col Gadafy.
With the participation of Arab states seen in Paris as a prerequisite for military action, the Arab League said the organisation’s president, Amr Moussa, would attend today’s summit. “It’s a step in the right direction, but it is not enough,” said an official of the ceasefire announcement.
During a busy day of diplomatic activity aimed at finalising plans for air strikes and shoring up wide support, Mr Sarkozy spoke to President Barack Obama, Mr Cameron and Mr Van Rompuy by phone and received Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani of Qatar, which has said it could take part in an operation. Jordan and the UAE are thought to be among the other Arab states considering joining the coalition.
Mr Sarkozy also convened a meeting with his prime minister, military chief of staff and ministers for foreign affairs and defence.
In London, Mr Cameron said Britain was preparing to move Tornado and Typhoon fighter-bomber aircraft to bases near Libya, while French government spokesman Francois Baroin said a military assault could begin “in several hours”. In the event of military action, France would likely deploy Mirage and Rafale fighters from air bases near the Mediterranean towns of Marseille and Istres, or from Corsica. Fighter jets could reach Libya in about an hour and a half from the south of France and in about an hour from Corsica. The Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier is at the Mediterranean port of Toulon and could could reach the Libyan coast in a day and a half carrying 15 fighter jets.