Nato Alliance Weighs Up Libya No-Fly Zone

The Nato military alliance is holding urgent talks on the deteriorating security situation in Libya - as France said the rebel leadership was the country's "legitimate representatives

Member states are weighing up their options, which include an attack on Libyan air defences as part of a strategy to impose a no-fly zone.

But there is disagreement on the way forward.

Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said: "If requested and if needed we can respond at very short notice."

But he warned: "There are a lot of sensitivities in the region as regards what might be considered foreign military interference."

A no-fly zone is easily achievable but it is a complex undertaking and could risk dragging the West into a protracted conflict in another Middle Eastern country.

"We do not want to get sucked into a war in North Africa," said German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle on arriving for talks with EU counterparts.

Analysts have said that if a no-fly zone is set up the alliance would first have to destroy Libya's air defences - which would be an effective declaration of war on Colonel Gaddafi.

A senior Nato source told Sky News that such an undertaking would also be costly and difficult.

Libya is a vast country and there are questions as to whether the no-fly zone would operate everywhere or just in selective areas.

Alliance aircraft would operate out of bases in the Mediterranean and also from aircraft carriers at sea.

The cost of inaction, though, is rising all the time. On the ground the number of people dying is rising.

Other considerations are the volatility in the oil market and the possible flood of refugees into southern Europe.

Nato, then, is unlikely to make the political decision alone.

The US has emphasised that a broad coalition is the best option. It would have to include backing from the United Nations, the Arab League and the African Union.

Veto-wielding Security Council member Russia has described any military intervention in Libya as "unacceptable" and said any talk about a no-fly zone as "premature".

However, the Libyan rebels have asked for a no-fly zone. Inaction may also then cause resentment.

Many Libyans are asking the question: 'How can the West stand back and watch as our people die?'

French foreign minister Alain Juppe urged EU partners to enter in dialogue with the rebels, shortly after Paris became the first government to recognise the opposition national council in Benghazi.

People near the National Council's headquarters in the eastern Libyan city cheered, honked horns and some fired guns in air to celebrate the news.

Meanwhile, Gaddafi's government appeared to launch an effort to halt Nato and EU efforts to isolate his regime.

Libyan government emissaries were thought to have flown to Brussels to talk to officials ahead of the meeting, Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini said.

Portugal said a Gaddafi envoy met its foreign minister on Wednesday to explain Tripoli's view of the conflict and Greece said another would meet Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Dollis on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Germany said it had frozen "billions" in assets held by the Libyan Central Bank and the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) as it implemented European Union sanctions.

The sanctions, applied on Wednesday, also targeted the Libya Africa Investment Portfolio and the Libyan Foreign Bank, officials said.