France rules out military intervention in Libya
(VOVworld) – On Friday French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault ruled out launching air strikes or sending ground troops to tackle Islamic State in Libya but said France can help secure the UN-brokered national unity government in Tripoli. Jean-Marc Ayrault told France Info radio that France shouldn’t make the same mistakes as in the past, adding that air strikes or ground troops are not France’s stance anyway. However, to secure the government, if head of the unity government Fayez Seraj asks for international help, France will consider it.
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| French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, March 22, 2016. (Photo: Reuters) |
France played a leading part in the NATO air campaign that helped rebels in Libya overthrow Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. French aircraft are now conducting reconnaissance flights over Libya while French military advisers operate on the ground in conjunction with those from Britain and the US.
Ayrault said France hoped to reopen its embassy in Libya as soon as possible and he will go to Libya as soon as the conditions are right.