As Nato and the European Union went into 48 hours of crisis talks on events in the oil-rich country, France became the first state to recognise Libya's opposition as its rightful representative while Portugal sent Gaddafi a message to quit.
Foreign ministers from the 27-nation European Union kicked off a packed agenda of meetings on Thursday and Friday bringing defence ministers and prime ministers or presidents into Brussels to look at the prospects for military intervention via a no-fly zone, humanitarian aid and economic props. As the EU adopted new sanctions targeting Libyan financial powerhouses, a source close to discussions told Agene France-Presse that French President Nicolas Sarkozy will propose airstrikes at a Friday EU summit on a limited number of points.
"Colonel Gaddafi is discredited, he must go, we must engage dialogue with the new Libyan representatives," his Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said. Paris' strong outreach to Libyan oppponents caught EU nations by surprise, with foreign ministers cautious in their response, diplomats said. Britain did not immediately follow the French move, but did describe the Libyan opposition as "valid interlocutors".
Portugal's Foreign Minister Luis Amado, who the previous day met a Gaddafi envoy in a Lisbon hotel, said he sent a message to Tripoli via the emissary saying: "The Gaddafi regime is over."http://mg.co.za/article/2011-03-10-west-tightens-screws-on-gaddafiSo, we know the result of one of the three airplanes that flew out of Tripoli. I remember that another that tried to fly to the UN in New York was denied landing.