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No-fly zone option on table with Libya crisis

Xinhua, March 15, 2011

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said?in Cairo Monday that all options on dealing with the Libya crisis are on the table, including imposing a no- fly zone, Egypt's state MENA news agency reported.

The EU is looking to the United Nations Security Council for action on Libya, said Ashton, EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, at a joint press conference after talks with Arab League (AL) Secretary General Amr Moussa.

Ashton reaffirmed calls for halting violence and humanitarian crisis in Libya, adding the UN Security Council would tackle the Libyan situation later Monday with potentials for imposing a no-fly zone.

The Security Council met on Monday to hear a briefing from UN political chief B. Lynn Pascoe about the AL's request for a no-fly zone in Libya.

The AL on Saturday decided in an emergency meeting of foreign ministers to urge the UN Security Council to impose a no-fly zone on Libya to protect the citizens.

During her meeting with Moussa, Ashton brought forth a European proposal on holding a tripartite summit of the EU, AL and the African Union on regional developments and means of realizing economic growth and seeing how Europe can offer help in this respect.

She didn't set the date for the proposed summit.

Earlier on Monday, Ashton also held talks with Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.

They discussed in the meeting all the latest developments in the local and regional fronts and the ways of pushing forward the EU-Egyptian relations during the transition period.

Ashton's visit is the second since Egypt's massive anti-regime demonstration which erupted on Jan. 25. She visited Egypt on Feb. 21 and asserted the willingness of EU to offer support for Egypt to pass through the transition period.