LONDON (AP) - Britain has officially recognized Libya's main opposition group as the country's legitimate government, the U.K. foreign secretary said Wednesday, announcing the expulsion of all diplomats loyal to Moammar Gadhafi's regime.
William Hague also said his country was unfreezing $150 million of Libyan oil assets to help the National Transitional Council, which the U.K. now recognizes as "the sole governmental authority in Libya."
The council had been invited to send an ambassador to London, Hague told reporters, adding "we will deal with the National Transitional Council on the same basis as other governments around the world."
The Libyan charge d'affaires was summoned Wednesday morning and informed he must leave the country within three days, the Foreign Office said. A government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with official policy, said the seven remaining diplomats were being given more time in case they wanted to defect.
Britain's diplomatic moves implement a decision made at a July 15 meeting in Istanbul during which the U.S., Britain and 30 other nations recognized Libya's main opposition group as the country's legitimate government.
A popular uprising seeking to oust Gadhafi broke out in February, but the front lines in the civil war have remained largely stagnant since then. Rebels, backed by NATO air bombings, control much of the country's east and pockets in the west. But Gadhafi controls the rest from his stronghold in Tripoli, the capital.
Britain is one of the leading participants in the NATO-led campaign, but the government has been under pressure over its failure to remove Gadhafi from power.
Libya's rebels saluted Britain's decision. Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, the head of the rebels' council, said Britain's recognition "gives us a political and economic boost."