WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The United States announced yesterday it would soon impose sanctions on Libya and bluntly said the legitimacy of longtime Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had been “reduced to zero.”
White House spokesman Jay Carney did not specify what the measures were or when they would be imposed but said the sanctions would be coordinated with European allies.
With the Libyan crisis also being taken up at the United Nations, European Union governments agreed on the idea of imposing an arms embargo, asset freezes and a travel ban on the oil-producing North African nation, with diplomats saying a formal decision would be taken early next week.
Washington announced the sanctions move — along with the closing of its embassy and withdrawal of U.S. diplomats — after a chartered ferry and a plane carrying Americans and other evacuees left Libya earlier yesterday.
