Libya check-up

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen visited London Wednesday for crunch talks on the future of operations in Libya.

Rasmussen's meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague in London followed complaints by the UK's navy chief, Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, that Britain would find it hard to keep its operations going in Libya beyond the next three months.

Official figures show the UK has been spending more than $6 million (4.23 million euros) a week on the Libya mission.

Ahead of the talks Cameron was grilled in parliament by Labour parliamentarian Mike Gapes, who repeated Stanhope's claim amid a loud chorus of shouts.

"The operations in Libya cannot be sustained for longer than three months, without serious cuts elsewhere," Gapes said as the yelling in parliament rose in volume. "Given those problems, isn't it time the prime minister re-opened the defence review and did yet another U-turn on his failed policies?"

Military brass fall in line

David Cameron rejected the criticism, insisting he had spoken to Stanhope, who now agreed with him.

"I had a meeting with [Stanhope] yesterday, and he agreed that we can sustain this mission, for as long as we need to," Cameron said. "Those are exactly the words used by the chief of the defence staff yesterday, because we are doing the right thing."

Sources say the navy chief was given a dressing down for apparently undermining the UK government's commitment to the Libya mission. Cameron insisted, however, 'time is on our side.'

"We have got NATO, we have got the United Nations, we have got the Arab League, we have right on our side," Cameron said. "The pressure is building, militarily, diplomatically and politically, and time is running out for [Libyan leader Moammar] Gadhafi."

Airstrikes not enough?

The UK government's denial that it is running out of money to see the Libya operation through comes amid reports that NATO officials are beginning to admit that airstrikes alone will not topple the Gadhafi regime.

But there was no public hint that the alliance is struggling to find the resources. NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu, speaking ahead of the London talks, said the situation was in fact the opposite.

"It's clear that NATO has the resources to keep up the pressure on the Gadhafi regime," she said. "We know it takes time, we know that following last week's ministerial meeting, allies and partners are considering how they can best provide the necessary resources to see this mission through."

Rasmussen's visit to London came just hours after the alliance hit several targets in resumed airstrikes on the Libyan capital.

Whether the talks were aimed at reassuring NATO of Britain's commitment - or the other way round - officials would not say.

Author: Nina-Maria Potts, London
Editor: Susan Houlton