GODOLLO: Nato's chief called an emergency alliance meeting on Libya on Friday and offered to help Europe bring home thousands of citizens stranded in the strife-torn country.
As the European Union prepared sanctions against the regime of Moamer Qadhafi, Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen met with EU defence Ministers in Hungary to discuss the vast evacuation effort under way in Libya.
Rasmussen also convened a separate emergency meeting of the North Atlantic Council, the 28-nation alliance's decision-making body, for later in the day in Brussels.
"The situation in Libya is of great concern. Nato can act as an enabler and coordinator if and when member states will take action," Rasmussen wrote on his Twitter account.
Governments worldwide have been scrambling to evacuate tens of thousands of citizens stranded in Libya amid fears that a revolt against Moamer Qadhafi's regime will descend into all-out civil war.
Between 2,000 and 3,000 Europeans were still stranded in Libya after several EU countries including Britain, Germany and Greece deployed planes and ships to evacuate their citizens, according to the EU.
"I will meet with EU defence ministers to see how in a pragmatic way we can help those in need and limit consequences of these events," Rasmussen told reporters.
"This crisis in our immediate neighbourhood affects Libyan civilians and many people from Nato allies," he said. "Many countries are evacuating their citizens. Clearly this is a massive challenge."
As European defence ministers met in an 18th-century palace in the town of Godollo outside Budapest, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the 27-nation bloc was ready to impose sanctions on the Qadhafi regime.
"It's time to consider what we call restrictive measures to think about what we can do to ensure we are putting as much pressure as possible to try and stop the violence in Libya and see the country move forward," Ashton said.
The sanctions being considered include an arms embargo, an assets freeze and travel ban against the regime.
The EU foreign and security policy chief said she had discussed the situation in Libya with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and White House officials.
She said she would talk with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday and meet her on Monday, "so that we can synchronise properly what we do in the European Union as well as what's happening in the international community."
The EU is waiting for the UN Security Council to decide on measures against Tripoli, possibly Monday, before imposing its own sanctions, an EU diplomat said on condition of anonymity.
The possibility of imposing a no-fly zone over Libya to prevent Qadhafi forces from bombing protesters has also been raised.
But Ashton said there has been no discussion about a military intervention.
"I don't think at this point there is any discussion about any sort of military action around Libya," she told reporters.
"People expect everything of France in the Mediterranean. Let's try to act together," he said.
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