Gaddafi must step down, but may not leave Libya: Hague

London, July 26 (ANI): British Foreign Secretary William Hague has said that Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi must relinquish power, but may not leave Libya.

Addressing media persons ahead of bilateral talks with his French counterpart Alain Juppe about how to resolve the situation in Libya, Hague said both Britain and France were "absolutely united" in their approach in dealing with Gaddafi, despite unsubstantiated claims that the French were growing impatient with the lack of military success.

"What happens to Gaddafi is ultimately a question for the Libyans. It is, as I said in my remarks earlier, for the Libyan people to determine their own future. What is absolutely clear, as Alain (Juppe) has said, is that whatever happens, Gaddafi must leave power. He must never again be able to threaten the lives of Libyan civilians nor to destabilise Libya once he has left power," the Independent quoted Hague, as saying.

"Obviously, him leaving Libya itself would be the best way of showing the Libyan people that they no longer have to live in fear of Gaddafi. But as I have said all along, this is ultimately a question for Libyans to determine," he added.

Juppe said the UK and France were in "perfect co-operation" in Libya where they were working along "exactly the same lines".

He added: "We think that we must continue to exert strong pressure on the Libyan regime with the same methods. If we did not intervene four months ago it would have been a massacre in Benghazi and I think we may be proud to have taken this courageous decision."

He said: "We are absolutely clear that at the end of the day, Gaddafi is going to have to abandon power, all military and civil responsibility, and then it will be for the Libyan people themselves to decide what (his) fate will be either inside Libya or outside Libya."

Earlier, the Ministry of Defence said British jets had successfully bombed a key intelligence building used by Gaddafi's forces.

The attack on the Central Organisation for Electronic Research building in Tripoli came in the early hours of Sunday morning and involved RAF Tornado and Typhoon aircraft.

Since the launch on March 19 of international military action to protect Libyan civilians under United Nations Security Council resolution 1973, the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Army Air Corps have destroyed more than 710 regime targets, said the Ministry of Defence. (ANI)