The United States has invited Libya’s rebel council to base a representative in Washington because it is no longer talking to Col Muammar Gadafy and his government, a senior US diplomat said on Monday.
US assistant secretary for the Near East Jeffrey Feltman, who met rebel leaders in Benghazi, is the highest-level US official to travel to the rebel stronghold since eastern Libya shook off Gadafy’s rule in February.
Unlike France, the US has not fully recognised the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) as the single representative of Libya’s people. US president Barack Obama said last week the council was “legitimate and credible”.
“It is important that he [Gadafy] understands that he is not going to define the future of Libya, but that the people of Libya will decide that,” Mr Feltman said.
Gadafy, he said, had no recognised representative in Washington and there was no US representation in Tripoli.
“A formal invitation for the council to establish a representative in Washington DC is a milestone in our relationship, and I am pleased that they accepted our offer,” he said.
European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton visited Benghazi on Sunday and pledged support for the rebel leadership.
The rebels had hoped for a quick overthrow of Gadafy, but his better-armed forces have blocked a push west to Tripoli by their poorly trained and ill-equipped fighters. The conflict is currently bogged down in a stalemate.
Washington, which took a leading role in securing a UN- backed no-fly zone over Libya, has pledged more aid to keep the rebels afloat while pushing for a deeper embargo on Gadafy’s government in Tripoli.
“We are not talking to Gadafy and his people,” Mr Feltman told reporters. “Gadafy and Tripoli are increasingly isolated internationally and the NTC is increasingly working with the international community and the Arab world.”
He said the US had given $53.5 million (€37.9 million) to address the humanitarian crisis due to the war and another $25 million in “non-lethal military supply”.
Nato aircraft yesterday hammered Gadafy’s compound with their heaviest air strikes yet.
A Nato official said the strikes hit a military facility that had been used to attack civilians. A Libyan government spokesman said three people had been killed and 150 wounded.