Turkey's prime minister has raised strong objections to imposing sanctions on Libya, saying innocent people would suffer and accusing world powers of making "calculations" over oil.
"Any intervention will make the process even more difficult," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a televised public speech that referred to the unrest gripping Libya.
"It will harm not the administration but the Libyan people. You cannot secure world peace by resorting to sanctions in each and every incident," the Islamist-rooted leader said.
"We call on the international community to approach Libya not with concerns about oil but with conscience, justice and universal human values," he said.
"We call on the international community to stop making various calculations over Libya and work for a remedy to stop the suffering of the Libyan people," he said without elaborating.
In an apparent reference to Western interests in oil-rich Libya, the prime minister of NATO's sole Muslim-majority member lamented that the region's people were "fed up" with "oil wars" in their countries.
"The pride of peoples in the Middle East and Africa has been hurt enough by double-standard attitudes going on for decades," Erdogan said.
They "are fed up with being used as pawns in oil wars. Essentially, they have poured into the streets as a result of this sentiment," he added.
Earlier this week Erdogan urged the Libyan regime not to make the "mistake" of ignoring popular demands for freedom and warned that "ruthless interventions" would only fan violence.
His speech on Saturday followed a telephone conversation with US President Barack Obama the previous day.
The two discussed "appropriate and effective ways for the international community to immediately respond" to the Libyan government’s use of violence against protesters, the White House said.
Erdogan's office however stressed the discussion focused on "humanitarian help" and cautioned against misunderstandings that might suggest an intention of "a direct intervention in (Libya's) internal affairs."
Washington has already imposed personal sanctions on Libyan ruler Moamer Kadhafi and four of his sons.
The UN Security Council was to meet Saturday to consider a sanctions resolution against Kadhafi in a bid to halt his bloody crackdown on protesters.
Britain, France, Germany and the United States have drawn up a resolution which says the attacks on civilians could amount to crimes against humanity. It calls for an arms embargo and a travel ban and assets freeze against Kadhafi and his entourage.
Also today, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey and the United Arab Emirates agreed to launch a joint effort to fly humanitarian supplies to the Libyan people, Anatolia news agency reported.
"Turkey and the UAE will set up an airbridge of assistance, by talking also to Libyan parties... Food, medicines and other supplies will be taken to every city in Libya," he said, following a visit to the UAE.
Turkish planes are already shuttling between Turkey and Libya as part of a large-scale operation to evacuate thousands of Turks, mostly employees of about 200 Turkish construction companies active in the country.