Veto-wielding member China is blocking UN Security Council action on Libya while the United States has yet to define its position, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Tuesday.
“If today we are stuck, it’s not only because Europe is impotent, it’s because at the Security Council, for now, China doesn’t want any mention of a resolution leading to the international community’s interference in a country’s affairs,” he said.
“Never mind that there’s European impotence, but what about American power? What about Russian power? What’s China’s power over Libya?” Juppe told the parliamentary foreign affairs committee.
Juppe spoke after hosting Group of Eight counterparts in Paris who issued a statement dropping proposals for military intervention in Libya and turned to the UN Security Council to increase the pressure on leader Moamer Kadhafi.
A French and British drive to impose a no-fly zone over Libya failed to win around the United States, Russia and other European Union powers, notably Germany. China was absent from the meeting but is opposed to a no-fly zone.
“Russia is evolving and the Americans haven’t yet defined their position on Libya,” Juppe said.
