Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi threatened to break off cooperation with the European Union on combating terrorism and illegal migration in an address to an emergency EU summit on Friday.
European leaders are meeting in Brussels to try to reach an agreement over measures to weaken Gaddafi's forces, which have been violently suppressing rebels in Libya since mid-February.
Reports on Friday suggested that Gaddafi's forces had reclaimed the rebel stronghold of Zawiya, west of Tripoli. Rebels are also reported to have fled from the oil terminal of Ras Lanuf.
In the address, carried by Libyan state media, Gaddafi warned that the country would drop its obligations to the EU and pull out of international agreements unless the EU recognized Tripoli's efforts to tackle terrorism and illegal migration in North Africa.
He urged the EU to join forces in the fight against al Qaeda's presence in Libya.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron are building support for a UN resolution to impose a no-fly zone over Libya.
Sarkozy claimed France and Britain were ready to launch "targeted air strikes" on Gaddafi's key military command positions if his forces used chemical weapons or warplanes against civilians.
Russia on Thursday joined UN arms embargo on Libya but says it is opposed to Western military intervention.
The UN Security Council has frozen the assets of 26 Libyans, including Gaddafi, his family and his close associates, and banned them from traveling to UN member states.
CAIRO, March 11 (RIA Novosti)
