France Considering Embassy in Libya

PARIS (AP) -- French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault says France is considering reopening its embassy in Libya.

Ayrault said Friday on France Info radio that he will go to Libya "as soon as the conditions are met."

He wouldn't specify when the embassy could reopen, saying the building is currently empty and a "preparatory work" is needed. France's embassy in Libya has been closed since July 2014 for security reasons.

Ayrault said France will not intervene in Libya through airstrikes or troops on the ground, but is ready to help secure the new U.N.-brokered unity government. If it "asks for an international aid, then we'll examine this (request)," he said.

Libya has been dominated by an array of militias since the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

(KA)