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Medvedev bans Qaddafi from Russia
[Arab News] President Dmitry Medvedev banned Libyan  leader Muammar Qadaffy... an Arab institution for 42 years ... and his family from Russia and from carrying out financial transactions in the country, the Kremlin said on Monday. The Kremlin chief added Qadaffy and his family to a list of banned people from Russia in a decree signed on March 10. Qadaffy on Sunday urged Russia, China and India to invest in Libya's oil sector, state television said. ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe? It said Qadaffy had made the appeal during talks with the ambassadors of the three countries. "In the discussions with the ambassadors ... a call was made for the companies of those countries to invest in the Libyan oil industry," it said. Libya's oil exports have been heavily disrupted by fighting, lack of staff, international sanctions and refusal of international banks to fund deals in the wake of a bloody uprising. Crude fell more than $1 a barrel after Qadaffy's forces regained control of some territory over the weekend Some industry players and analysts estimate it may take a year for operations in the OPEC member, which before the unrest produced 1.6 million barrels per day, to return to normal. Major foreign players operating in Libya include Italy's ENI, US companies ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil, Anglo-Dutch oil major Shell and Spain's Repsol. Russia has strictly opposed military invention in Libya, and has warned world powers against meddling in the affairs of the north African country. The Kremlin has not ruled out a no-fly zone, which Britain and La Belle France have been pushing, saying that any such moves must be made after seeking cooperation from the UN Security Council, where Russia holds a veto-yielding power. Moscow could use its clout, siding with fellow permanent UN Security Council member China, to temper Western policy and influence global actions, as it has done with Iran in an eight-year-long stand-off over its disputed nuclear activity. Posted by: Fred 2011-03-15 |
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