Timerman, traveling in New York for a multilateral meeting, was cited by the state agency Telam.

The Argentina official said his country would also assist the UN High Commissioner for Refugees by sending a team to the Libyan border with Tunisia.

Britain, France and the United States are among the countries that have already temporarily shut their embassies in Tripoli and evacuated their staff amid growing unrest over demands for long-time ruler Moamer Kadhafi to quit.