Epress.am News from Armenia
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called on the European Union to impose sanctions against Libya following a violent crackdown on anti-government protesters, Al Jazeera English reports.
“I call on the foreign ministry to propose to our European Union partners the swift adoption of concrete sanctions so that all those involved in the ongoing violence know that they must assume the consequences of their actions,” he told a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
“I would also like to be examined the suspension until further notice of economic, commercial and financial relations with Libya.”
Sarkozy condemned the “brutal and bloody repression” of those protesting against the 41-year rule of Muammer Gaddafi and said the international community “could not remain a spectator.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has also said she would be in favour of sanctions against Libya if it did not halt the use of violence against its own people.
Hundreds of protesters have been killed in the crackdown.
Merkel’s comments came on Tuesday after a defiant speech by Gaddafi in which he said he was “ready to die a martyr” and vowed to crush the revolt against him.