Clinton Meets in Paris With Libyan Rebel Leader

Clinton Meets in Paris With Libyan Rebel Leader

By STEVEN LEE MYERS

PARIS — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met late Monday with a leader of Libya’s increasingly beleaguered opposition, but did so privately and without a public statement.

The meeting reflected the Obama administration’s struggle over how much support it would, or could, provide to the rebels seeking to overthrow Libya’s leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

Mrs. Clinton met the opposition leader, Mahmoud Jibril, at her hotel here after attending a dinner with foreign ministers of the countries of the Group of 8, who discussed ways to increase pressure on Colonel Qaddafi’s government, including imposing a no-flight zone over Libyan territory. Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Jibril met for 45 minutes but did not appear publicly out of concern for his security, an aide said.

Although aides to Mrs. Clinton said the foreign ministers shared a sense of urgency, they announced no new actions or proposals.

The Arab League called over the weekend for action to halt Libyan airstrikes — without saying explicitly which countries would enforce it — but a senior administration official said early Tuesday that the Group of 8 ministers “wanted further clarification of what it meant.”

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WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States imposed sanctions on Libya's foreign minister and 16 state-owned companies Tuesday, ratcheting up pressure on the regime of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi.

The US Treasury Department announced "further steps to isolate the Kadhafi regime," targeting Libyan Foreign Minister Mussa Kussa and 16 firms it identified in Libya's banking, oil, aviation and investment sectors as being owned or controlled by the Libyan government.

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On February 25 Obama's administration sanctioned Kadhafi and four sons amid Kadhafi's crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, but did not single out any other Libyan officials.

The new move came as diplomats said that major powers on the UN Security Council expect to distribute a draft resolution proposing tougher sanctions against Libya to all council members on Tuesday.

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