Duitse minister van Buitenlandse Zaken beroept zich op 'verkeerd geciteerde' voorman Arabische Liga (en)
EUOBSERVER i / BRUSSELS - German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle has used a disputed Arab League statement to justify staying out of the military action against Colonel Gaddafi.
Speaking to press at a foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels on Monday (21 March), Westerwelle recalled several times that Arab League chief Amr Moussa was quoted on Sunday as saying the air strikes have gone beyond the UN mandate on imposing a no-fly zone.
"German soldiers will not be sent to Libya because we think this war carries real risks not only for Libya itself but for the region as a whole," he explained. "It means that we see the risks and when we listen closely to what the Arab League yesterday said, unfortunately we see that we have reasons for our concern."
In a sign of Germany's increasing isolation, a number of other ministers on Monday said the Moussa comment is invalid.
"We have been in touch with the Arab League and they have corrected what they said," Danish foreign minister Lene Espersen noted. "A spokesperson from the Arab League said there is still full support for the decision taken on Saturday," she added, referring to a summit in Paris in which the league signed up to military action.
EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton i said: "Moussa was misquoted as I understand it." Luxembourg's foreign minister Jean Asselborn said Moussa "was misunderstood." Finland's Alexander Stubb said he was quoted "out of context."
Other member states have indicated that Germany's position could prevent Nato from taking over the reins of the anti-Gaddafi Operation Odyssey Dawn.
Denmark's Espersen added: "Denmark as a committed Nato member wants Nato to play a role and we are hoping the member states who have raised concerns will put aside their concerns and let Nato play a role."
Italian minister Franco Frattini i said: "It's time we move from a coalition of the willing to a bit more co-ordinated approach under Nato."
UN mandate dissected
The question of what exactly UN Security Council resolution 1973 means is a topic of debate on Monday.
Frattini and Ashton said the EU meeting will scrutinise whether all aspects of the military action so far conform with the UN writ.
Spain and Sweden said the mandate includes taking out Gaddafi's tanks as well as his air defences. Amid reports that coalition special forces are taking part in actions on the ground in Libya, Spain's Trinidad Garcia-Herrera said: "the only thing that is excluded is occupation with foreign forces."
Luxembourg and Sweden were among the most bullish, suggesting the final objective of the operation is regime change. "Mr Gaddafi understands the consequences: leave the country and leave power and I think a lot of lives can be saved," Asselborn said. "What is required is to build a post-Gaddafi Libya," Sweden's Carl Bildt noted.
Finland's Stubb suggested that UNSCR 1973 could set a precedent for military intervention further afield: "I think it's one of the most important political decisions of the past 20 years. It gives the international community the right to protect civilians."
Ashton also noted that her job description and the role of the EU sensu strictu is to toughen-up anti-Gaddafi sanctions and to draft a plan for humanitarian and economic assistance for a post-conflict Libya and for the wider region.
Germany's Westerwelle was more bold on the area of sanctions. "We, as the German government, have a clear goal to get the sanctions broadened," he said, mentioning an "oil embargo."
The Austrian foreign minister, Michael Spindelegger i, also said he is "in favour" of a financial ban on Libya's National Oil Corporation.