Venezuela's Chavez talks up Libya peace plan

>CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez pushed a vague peace plan for Libya on Thursday, saying his friend Muammar Gaddafi supported foreign mediation and accusing the West of eyeing the North African nation's oil. Though rebels have rejected talks with the Libyan president and some analysts view the Chavez plan as grand-standing, the socialist leader said the idea had gained traction in Tripoli."I was able to speak to Gaddafi yesterday and we proposed a negotiating commission and he said yes," Chavez said, adding that he had also discussed the idea with other Latin American, Middle East and African nations."I hope they don't invade Libya ... we want peace."Gaddafi's son Saif al Islam told Sky News he appreciated the offer but said there was no need for help from Venezuela."They are our friends, we respect them, we like them, but they are far away. They have no idea about Libya. Libya is in the Middle East and North Africa.

">CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez pushed a vague peace plan for Libya on Thursday, saying his friend Muammar Gaddafi supported foreign mediation and accusing the West of eyeing the North African nation's oil"Venezuela is in Central America. We appreciate this," he said.The Arab League said it was considering the idea but needed more details. Oil markets gave the mediation plan some credence, with prices falling after a rally on worries that the Libya crisis will hit supplies.Both Chavez and Gaddafi are military men who have cast themselves as anti-imperialist revolutionaries and forged a friendship during half a dozen encounters in the last decade.Much like his mentor, Fidel Castro of Cuba, Chavez often takes a vocal role in international crises, although his efforts to influence events do not always bear fruit.Perhaps seeking to increase the plan's credibility, a government source said Venezuela hoped to convince Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to lead mediation.Brazil backed a unanimous U.N. security council vote to impose sanctions on Libya last week. In 2010, Lula sought to raise Brazil's global profile by proposing the South American nation as an unbiased mediator in the crisis over Iran's nuclear program, but was rejected by Western nations.ACCUSATIONS OF INVASION PLANAnalysts are skeptical Chavez can help bring a quick end to the fighting in Libya, where Gaddafi faces an increasingly organized rebel army that has said it would only negotiate an end to the leader's 41-year rule."Chavez's credibility does not fly very high," said Olivier Jakob of think tank Petromatrix."The only value of such a proposal is if it offers some honorable way out for the Gaddafi clan." 1 2 Next World Venezuela Libya Tweet this Share this Link this Digg this Email Reprints.