Finance Minister Tonio Fenech told Parliament yesterday that so long as the government does not accord full recognition to the Libyan Transnational Council as the government of Libya, it  will not release the frozen assets of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and the Libyan government to the council.

He was answering a supplementary question by opposition spokesman on foreign affairs George Vella, who had asked how and why the Libyan embassy was still open when the government had accorded the council recognition as the sole interlocutor of the Libyan people, to the exclusion of all others. Did this mean that Col Gaddafi’s frozen assets would have to be released to the council?

Mr Fenech said the government and the council had opened channels of communication.

Despite questions by Labour MP Carmelo Abela, who said other governments had revealed the extent of frozen Libyan assets, the minister said those had been the exception and were not obliged to do so by the UN resolution. The government preferred to be cautious and not even reveal the amount of assets.

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