Russia believes Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi should quit and could help broker his departure, a senior Russian official said on Friday in an important boost to Nato powers bent on ending his 41-year rule. It was a striking change in tone from Kremlin criticism of Western air strikes in Libya officially intended to protect civilians in a civil war but effectively taking the side of rebels seeking Qadhafi's removal and democratic change.
Nato said it was preparing to deploy attack helicopters over the Arab North African state for the first time to add to the pressure on Qadhafi's forces on the ground. But his security forces demonstrated once again that they are far from a spent force, launching rocket attacks overnight on the rebel-held town of Zintan and fighting insurgents on the outskirts of the city of Misrata.
The Russian mediation offer was announced on the sidelines of the Group of Eight summit in Deauville, France, where Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was among the heads of state in attendance. "Colonel Qadhafi has deprived himself of legitimacy with his actions. We should help him leave," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in Deauville.
He said Russia would use its dialogue with the Libyan authorities to "help Mr Qadhafi take the right decision". Earlier, US President Barack Obama said he had agreed with French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy that the only acceptable outcome was for Qadhafi to go. "We are joined in resolve to finish the job," he said. A Nato-led coalition led by France and Britain has been bombing Libya since March, under a UN mandate to protect civilians caught up in a battle with rebel forces intent on ending Qadhafi's 41-year rule.
But the rebels' advance towards Tripoli has been checked hundreds of km (miles) short of their goal, creating a quandary for Western powers who want a quick outcome in Libya but also to avoid getting embroiled in another Middle Eastern conflict by putting troops on the ground. Britain and France have tried to help break the deadlock by agreeing to deploying attack helicopters over Libya. They will be able to give close ground support to rebel forces, though they are also at greater risk of being shot down.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said in Deauville that Nato's war in Libya was entering a new phase and that the deployment of British helicopters would turn up the pressure on the Libyan leader. Qadhafi has denied attacking civilians, saying that his forces were forced to act against armed criminal gangs and al Qaeda militants. He says the Nato intervention is an act of colonial aggression aimed at grabbing Libya's bountiful oil. There was scepticism that Qadhafi would agree to step aside as part of any negotiated settlement, even with Russia now joining calls for his departure.
"Knowing his state of mind, I don't think he is going to step down... The positions are still very far apart (between the rebels and Tripoli)," Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said on the sidelines of the G8 summit. Rebel-held Misrata, Libya's third-biggest city and scene of some of the fiercest battles in the three-month-old conflict, was hit by a second day of heavy fighting on its western outskirts.
A Reuters reporter said he could see white puffs of smoke and dust from where mortars fired by pro-Qadhafi forces were landing. The insurgents responded by firing back with rockets and heavy machine guns, shouting "Allahu Akbar!" (God is Greatest) after each volley. Doctors at Misrata's hospital said three rebels were killed and 16 wounded in the fighting on Friday.