JEDDAH – Saudi Arabia on Wednesday said a decision to support imposing a no-fly zone over Libya was up to the Arab League, not only Gulf countries. “It is an issue that is the responsibility of the Arab League,” Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told a press conference in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.
Arab League foreign ministers will meet Saturday to discuss ways to stop Libyan leader Moamar Gaddafi from bombing and strafing his own citizens who are battling the loyalist military for control of the north African country.
Foreign ministers of the six Gulf Cooperation Council states — which include Saudi Arabia and are all members of the 22-member Arab League — released a statement Monday calling on the United Nations to enforce a no-fly zone.
But Faisal appeared to distance Saudi Arabia from the GCC statement, saying that any such decision needed to be taken by the broader League. He added however that all member countries shared the common aim to “protect the Libyans.”
The League last week said it would reject any foreign military intervention in Libya. A British-French resolution demanding a no-fly zone could go before the UN Security Council as early as this week, diplomats said Monday.
