It "affirmed that Qadhafi's regime has lost all legitimacy and he should leave and allow the Libyan people to decide their future." The statement added that "participants in the contact group agreed to continue to provide support to the opposition, including material support." Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani told reporters that this refers to "humanitarian means, and also means of defence. And that means that the Libyan people should get the means that they need to defend themselves."
Earlier, Italy's foreign ministry spokesman Maurizio Massari said the "the discussion about arming the rebels is definitely on the table ... to defend themselves." "The UN resolution ... does not forbid arming" the rebels fighting Kadhafi's forces, Massari told reporters ahead of the meeting, which gathered representatives of some 20 countries and international organisations. "We need to provide the rebels all possible defensive means," he said, singling out communication and intelligence equipment. In an apparent rift in European ranks, however, Belgium expressed opposition to arming the rebels while Germany insisted that there could be "no military solution."
UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged the international community to "speak with one voice" on Libya, while warning that as many as 3.6 million people, or more than half of Libya's population, could need humanitarian assistance. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told a press conference after the meeting that the international contact group was eyeing a conditional cease-fire in the conflict.
"We want to achieve a cease-fire but on condition it's a real cease-fire under real control, not just a halt to firing," he said, adding that any cease-fire must comply with UN resolutions and entail the withdrawal of Kadhafi's forces from captured towns and a return to barracks.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague was upbeat about the meeting and said it would "strengthen" the pressure on Kadhafi to step down. "It is impossible for anyone to see a viable future for Libya with Colonel Kadhafi in power," Hague told reporters. "Pressure for Kadhafi to go will increase at the meeting today. It will strengthen, not weaken."
The final statement said the parties "agreed to set up a temporary financial mechanism to act as a means for the Transitional National Council and international community to manage aid revenues and secure short-term financial needs."