Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi this morning underlined that the Gaddafi government had lost its legitimacy because it was shooting at its own people.

Welcoming British Defence Secretary Liam Fox at the Auberge de Castille, Dr Gonzi said the Libyan people were only calling for their fundamental freedoms and they should have been heeded. Change, he said, could not be stopped.

Dr Gonzi said the international community could help in various ways to bring about change. Malta was backing a call for a summit meeting involving the EU, the Arab League and the African Union, whose importance was to bring about pressure on the Libyan authorities.

Asked about military action, such as a no-fly zone, Dr Gonzi said that while those options were under consideration by various quarters, Malta would remain neutral in as far as military action was involved, in line with its Constitutional obligations.

(The head of the Arab League this morning also spoke in favour of a no-fly zone).

Dr Fox thanked Malta for its assistance in the evacuation of British and other nationals from Libya and said that Britain respected Malta's constitutional obligations.

Asked whether Britain would support burden-sharing of migrants, he said that Britain's position was to prevent an influx of migrants in the first place.

Dr Fox in the past hours also visited HMS Cumberland in Grand Harbour and thanked the crew for their work.

Dr Gonzi later also welcomed the Canadian Defence Minister, Peter Mackay who said that Candaba was indebted to Malta for its assistance. The two leaders agreed that they needed to continue to cooperate because of the evolving situation in the North Afriucan country.