Gaddafi would go in exchange for security: report
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/05/us-libya-russia-idUSTRE7640WA20110705
3:24am EDT
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian newspaper said Tuesday that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was willing to give up power in exchange for security guarantees, citing a high-level Russian official.
The report in the respected daily Kommersant, which did not identify its source, came a day after the search for ways to end the war in Libya dominated Russia's talks with NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen and South African President Jacob Zuma.
"The colonel (Gaddafi) is sending signals that he is prepared to relinquish power in exchange for security guarantees," Kommersant quoted what it called a high-level source in the Russian leadership as saying.
The source said in the report that other nations, potentially including France, were willing to provide those guarantees.
The Kommersant report also said Gaddafi wanted his son Saif al-Islam to be permitted to run in elections if he steps down, a condition the rebels might not accept.
The Libyan government said Monday that it was in talks with opposition figures, but the other side stuck to entrenched positions on Gaddafi's fate.
Saif al-Islam told a French newspaper there was no question of negotiating an end to his father's 42-year rule, and the rebel National Transitional Council backtracked on its statement that Gaddafi could stay in Libya if he gave up all power.
(Reporting by Steve Gutterman; editing by Ralph Boulton)
Gaddafi “ready to resign” – source
http://rt.com/news/line/2011-07-05/#id13673
10:13
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is sending signals that he is ready to resign if his personal inviolability is guaranteed, the Kommersant newspaper quotes a source high up in the Russian government as saying on July 5. The revelation came during a session of the Russia-NATO Council in Sochi on July 4. The source believes Gaddafi will receive the required guarantees, and cited the example of France, which is prepared to unfreeze some of the Libyan leader’s bank accounts and help him evade the Hague Tribunal. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Gaddafi, who is suspected of crimes against humanity during the first days of the Libyan uprising.
Gaddafi ready to step down if guaranteed security
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/07/05/52789219.html
Jul 5, 2011 10:35 Moscow Time
The Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is ready to step down in exchange for security guarantees, the Russian daily Kommersant writes in an article.
France is specifically prepared to provide this kind of guarantee, says a high-ranking source in the Russian leadership.
But Gaddafi makes his resignation conditional on holding elections with his son Saif al-Islam running for President.
The Libyan leader’s supporters claim that if rebels are indeed pressing for democracy, they should allow all political forces in the country to run in elections.
Gaddafi ready to go: report
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/bric-yard/gaddafi-ready-go-report
Russian newspaper Kommersant that France is ready to propose a peaceful exit for Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi.
Miriam Elder
July 5, 2011 01:07
Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi is ready to step down in exchange for a security guarantee, Kommersant, Russia’s leading daily, reports today.
“The colonel is sending signals that he’s ready to leave power in exchange for a security guarantee,” a high-placed source in the Russian government told Kommersant. “And such guarantees are ready to be offered to him.”
“In order to put an end to the drawn out conflict, the French are ready to not only unfreeze the colonel’s family’s accounts but also save him from the Hague tribunal,” Kommersant writes from Sochi, where President Dmitry Medvedev this weekend held talks with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and also with South African President Jacob Zuma, who is leading the African Union's efforts to negotiate a peaceful settlement in Libya.
“[France] is not only ready to unfreeze part of Gaddafi’s accounts and those of his family, but also to promise to act so that the colonel, in the event of his peaceful exit, avoids the Hague tribunal,” the paper writes. “Furthermore, the question of allowing the Libyan leader to remain in his homeland is being discussed.”
The rebels’ National Transitional Council Monday stepped back from statements that it could allow Gaddafi to remain in Libya. “There is absolutely no current or future possibility for Qaddafi to remain in Libya,” council head Mustafa Abdul Jalil said in an e-mailed statement, Bloomberg reported. “There is no escape clause for Qaddafi - he must be removed from power and face justice.”
Another hiccup: Kommersant reports that Gaddafi insists his son Saif be allowed to stand in any elections that would follow his departure. Unlikely, to say the least.
July 05, 2011 10:03
NATO's ground operation in Libya to lead to unpredictable consequences in region - Russian deputy FM (Part 2)
http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=256794
MOSCOW. July 5 (Interfax) - NATO's ground operation in Libya will threaten the country's territorial integrity and may lead to unpredictable consequences for the whole region, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said.
"Such interference [a ground operation] would be a serious blow to Libya's sovereignty and territorial integrity and would lead to unpredictable consequences on the regional scale," Bogdanov said in an interview with Interfax.
UN Security Council Resolution 1973 does not provide for a possibility of a ground operation in Libya, he pointed out.
"We have proceeded and continue proceeding from the fact that it is impossible to resolve the crisis by force and that it is absolutely impossible to engage external forces into the conflict on the ground. UN Security Council Resolution 1973 does not authorize such actions," Bogdanov said.
Speaking about Russia's position at votings on UN Security Council resolutions on Libya, he said: "we were absolutely aware of the fact that such steps may lead to considerable material losses to Russia."
"However, we consciously went for it in order to prevent further bloodshed," Bogdanov said.
The full text of the interview will appear at www.interfax.ru.
ar jv
(Our editorial staff can be reached at eng.editors@interfax.ru)
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