The US will stay the course in Libya “for as long as is needed” although it was difficult to say when Muammar Gaddafi will go, according to a high ranking US State Department official.
On a two-day visit to Malta after attending the Libya Contact Group meeting in Turkey, Elizabeth Dibble, the deputy assistant secretary at the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, yesterday said the US was committed to taking part in the Nato operation until Col Gaddafi leaves.
“I don’t know how long the current situation in Libya will last. I don’t have a crystal ball but Gaddafi has proven himself to be unpredictable on a number of occasions,” Ms Dibble said, adding that the situation was “getting worse” for the Libyan leader.
Addressing a media briefing at the US Embassy in Ta’ Qali, Ms Dibble said her government had recognised the Transitional National Council as the legitimate government of Libya, permitting the US to release some of the billions of dollars in frozen assets “in the near future”.
It took the US some time to recognise the TNC as the legitimate government, unlike Nato allies France and Italy, but Ms Dibble said there was a gradual process that had to be followed. “We did not know who they were and what they stood for. It took time but the TNC has demonstrated it is inclusive and made it clear they are a transitional authority,” she said, adding the construction of a post-Gaddafi Libya would be up to the Libyan people.
The Contact Group was there to provide political and economic support to the TNC, Ms Dibble said and the US was committed to help.
Asked about media reports claiming the US held secret meetings with Col Gaddafi’s aides, Ms Dibble said she had no information on that.
International media reported that the meeting took place in Tunisia last Friday. However, the US said there were no negotiations and it had only conveyed a “very strong” message that Col Gaddafi must go.
Ms Dibble said the international community had insisted Col Gaddafi had lost legitimacy and must step down.
She praised Malta for its actions in the Libya crisis, particularly in the evacuation of foreign workers, the provision of humanitarian aid and the assistance given to Nato aircraft that found themselves in difficulty.
Ms Dibble yesterday met Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg, who also attended the Turkey meeting.
The issues for discussion, apart from Libya, include the debt crisis ahead of tomorrow’s extraordinary EU summit on the debt crisis.