Nato fails to win planes pledge
Nato has failed for a second day to find new ground-attack aircraft for the fight against Muammar Gaddafi’s forces in Libya but its top official said he expects the additional planes soon.
Nato’s top military commander, US Navy Admiral James Stavridis, has said there is a growing need for precision attack aircraft to avoid civilian casualties as Gaddafi’s forces camouflage themselves and hide in populated areas to avoid Western air strikes.
American officials said the commander is looking for about eight to 10 additional planes.
The alliance is struggling to overcome differences over the Libya mission, with Britain and France seeking more strikes by other Nato nations, particularly the US.
The US says it sees no need to change what it calls a supporting role in the campaign – even though it has still been flying a third of the missions – and many other Nato nations have rules preventing them from striking Gaddafi’s forces except in self-defence.
Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that the Berlin meetings had ended with no specific pledges from the allies for the additional planes, but that he received “indications that nations will deliver what is needed.
“I’m hopeful that we will get the necessary assets in the very near future,” he said.
Nato air strikes began three weeks ago, aimed at protecting Libyan civilians from attacks from forces loyal to Gaddafi.
US, British and French leaders pledged in a joint statement today to maintain the military campaign until Muammar Gaddafi leave office – something Fogh Rasmussen said Nato fully supports.
“Nato is absolutely determined to continue its operation for as long as there are attacks against Libyan civilians, and it’s impossible to imagine that threat will disappear with Gaddafi in power,” he said.
European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton took part in an opening session today, and the group agreed to schedule an informal EU-Nato meeting to talk further about the Libya situation. No other details were announced.
The talks also included meetings with officials from Ukraine and Georgia, and with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a meeting of the Nato-Georgia commission that Washington continues to support Georgia’s sovereignty and is urging Russia to comply with a ceasefire agreement after the 2008 war over South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which calls for both sides to pull back forces to pre-conflict locations.
“We continue to urge Russia at the highest levels to comply with its obligations under the 2008 ceasefire agreement, and to reduce tensions in the region,” she said in prepared remarks.
