Nato fends off concern over Libya

Russia says it wants to use the talks with Nato as an opportunity to foster co-operation

Russia and Nato are meeting for talks in the southern Russian resort of Sochi, with the crisis in Libya a key item on the agenda.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia wanted to use the mechanisms of the council as “a catalyst for co-operation”.

President Dmitry Medvedev will meet Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Russia is a critic of Nato’s campaign in Libya, giving these routine talks special significance.

South African President Jacob Zuma will also attend, as he continues to spearhead mediation efforts between the rebels and the government in Tripoli after rebels rejected an African Union initiative on Sunday.

South Africa has played a leading role in efforts to broker talks, and Mr Zuma is set to meet President Medvedev, and possibly Mr Fogh Rasmussen, on the sidelines of the meeting.

Missile defence also remains an issue on the talks agenda, with Nato eager to persuade Moscow that its plans for limited defences against missile attack do not represent any threat to the credibility of Russia’s own nuclear deterrent, say correspondents.

This event is is one of regular Nato-Russia Council meetings, but it has gained more than usual significance because of the continuing fighting – and bombing – in Libya, says the BBC’s Daniel Sandford in Moscow.

Russia has criticised the bombing of Libya, saying the mission has lost its original focus on protecting civilians, and is now about removing the Libyan government.

In a statement it said the only way to stabilise the situation in Libya was an “immediate ceasefire” and talks “with support, but not interference, from outside the country”.

The fate of Col Gaddafi’s regime is a key sticking point in talks on the future of Libya

On Sunday Libyan rebels rejected an AU peace initiative, with rebel spokesman Abdel Hafiz Ghoga saying: “We have rejected it. It did not include the departure of [Libyan leader Col Muammar] Gaddafi, his sons and his inner circle.”

In an apparent significant softening of policy, TNC head Mustafa Abdul Jalil later said Col Gaddafi would be welcome to live out his retirement inside Libya as long as he gave up all power.

“As a peaceful solution, we offered that he can resign and order his soldiers to withdraw from their barracks and positions, and then he can decide either to stay in Libya or abroad,” he told Reuters news agency.

“If he desires to stay in Libya, we will determine the place and it will be under international supervision. And there will be international supervision of all his movements.”

However, this concession was later rejected by Mr Ghoga, who said the TNC chief had been expressing a “personal view” and the idea had not been put forward in negotiations.

“Let Gaddafi show us one place in Libya where he hasn’t harmed, tortured or killed people and he could stay there, but this place doesn’t exist,” Mr Ghoga said, according to Associated Press news agency.

The apparent contradiction in the statements of the two men has fuelled speculation of a possible rift in the rebel leadership.

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