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| US President Barack Obama |
DEAUVILLE, France (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Friday that the United States and France were in full agreement on sticking with the NATO-led intervention in Libya until the crisis there is resolved.
Obama, speaking after talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy as Group of Eight leaders met for their annual summit in the northern French seaside town of Deauville, said Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had to leave the country.
"We agreed that we have made progress on our Libya campaign but that meeting the U.N. mandate of civilian protection cannot be accomplished when Gaddafi remains in Libya, directing his forces in acts of aggression against the Libyan people," Obama told a news briefing at the G8 summit.
"We are joined in resolve to finish the job," he said.
A NATO coalition led by France and Britain has been bombing Gaddafi's army bases since March, under a U.N. mandate to protect civilians caught up in a battle with rebel forces intent on ending Gaddafi's 41-year rule.
NATO air strikes on Tripoli overnight left smoke rising from Gaddafi's compound, after Washington said a ceasefire offer from his government was not credible.
In its summit communique, the G8 said Gaddafi had no future in a democratic Libya and demanded his forces cease their use of force against civilians. The communique also said those behind civilian killings would be investigated and punished.
"We are committed to supporting a political transition that reflects the will of the Libyan people," said the statement, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters in advance of publication.
Obama said he and Sarkozy agreed that democratic movements in North Africa and the Middle East made the pursuit for peace between Israelis and Palestinians "more urgent, not less."
He said the two leaders would coordinate closely to get the parties to negotiate to create a Palestinian state that is sovereign and an Israeli state that is secure.
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