Libya may Favor Chinese and Russian Oil Firms over US

The Chairman of the Libyan National Oil Company [NOC] said that Tripoli is seeking to give precedence to Russia and China – at the expense of US oil companies – with regards to the Libyan oil industry because of its dissatisfaction of the Obama administrations support for Switzerland in its current crisis with Libya. At the same time, the Libyan Charges d'Affaires to the UK, Omar R Jelban, revealed that Switzerland has issued a blacklist of 188 Libyans banned from traveling to the country, and that the names of the three Libyan officials charged with negotiating an end to this diplomatic crisis were included on this list. Jelban said that this indicates that Switzerland is not interested in resolving the crisis with Tripoli.

The crisis between Libya and Switzerland began after Switzerland arrested Hannibal Gaddafi in mid-July 2008. This led to Colonel Gaddafi issuing his call for a "jihad" against Switzerland, which was later ridiculed by a US State Department spokesman, causing tension between the US and Libya.

During a press conference held at the Libyan Embassy in London, the Libyan Charges d'Affaires revealed that Libyan Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Khalid al-Kaim, Foreign Ministry Director of European Affairs Ahmed Jaroud, and Deputy Director of the International Organizations department Murad Humaima, in addition to other members of the Libyan negotiating team, were included on the Swiss blacklist.

Jelban also revealed some other names included on the 188-member blacklist, such as Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi, all members of his family, as well as other civilian officials and military personnel.

Meanwhile, Shukri Ghanem, head of the Libyan National Oil Company [NOC] said that "Libya is upset over the US position and the cynical comments made by the State Department spokesman about the Libyan leader's call for jihad against Switzerland."

Ghanem also revealed that his name was included on the list of 188 Libyan officials, and he asked "how can I negotiate with any country about oil while at the same time I am prohibited from being granted a visa to visit Schengen agreement states?" Colonel Gaddafi met with Chinese and Russian ambassadors yesterday in Tripoli, in what appeared to be a message to the US. Dr. Ghanem was also present at this meeting, along with Libyan Foreign Minister Musa Kusa.

Ghanem told Asharq Al-Awsat via telephone that "this meeting came in the context of Libyan efforts to diversify the parties that it deals with in the oil industry" pointing out that China is a country on the rise and is continuously in demand for oil. Ghanem also said that it is important for Libya to strengthen its ties to China in all economic fields, including oil.- Aswat