24/06/2011 11:00
Gaddafi seeking asylum in Belarus, Libyan Ambassador to UN says
A former Libyan foreign minister who has defected to the opposition said on Thursday he believed Muammar Gaddafi realized he could no longer stay in Libya and may leave within a few weeks, Reuters reported.
Abdurrahaman Shalgam, one of the highest-ranking Libyan defectors, told Corriere della Sera TV he believed Gaddafi was negotiating for asylum with either another African country or Belarus.
"He is maneuvering for three things - to leave the country, to have money and to be shielded from the International Criminal Court," said Shalgam, who still serves as Libya's Ambassador to the United Nations.
"He is maneuvering to go to another African country or even Belarus because the president there is his friend. I think that he will leave Libya in a few weeks, in two or three weeks at the most."