As NATO seeks Libya solution, cracks in alliance exposeda

NATO foreign ministers meeting in Berlin yesterday sought to bridge differences over what to do in Libya, where the government of Muammar Gaddafi remains defiant in the face of airstrikes and rebel attacks. Italy is proposing providing "defensive weapons" to rebel forces, with the British and French calling for increased strikes against the Libyan regime and Turkey and Germany pushing for a political solution. Debate also raged over whether assistance to the Libyan rebels should include providing them with weapons. Turkey, NATO's only Muslim ally, pressed for more efforts to find a political solution to end the Libyan crisis, Turkish diplomatic sources said. They added that Turkey is still cold to the idea of intensifying the military operation there or supplying arms to the rebels. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu joined the NATO talks after attending the Libya Contact Group meeting in Doha on Wednesday. Diplomats said he stressed the need for more political efforts to solve the crisis in an attempt to sway NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen to his side in the ongoing debate.