France says time to act on Libya, will push for EU sanctions
* Foreign minister says cannot wait any longer for gov't creation
* Says wants EU to adopt sanctions on spoilers
* France positioning itself to combat Islamic State
PARIS, March 10 (Reuters) - France's foreign minister on Thursday said there was no time to waste in forming a Libyan government that would pave the way for action against Islamic State and he would push for sanctions against individuals at a European meeting next week.
French officials have been warning for more than a year that the political void is creating favourable conditions for Islamist groups. Efforts to establish a U.N. backed unity government in the oil producing nation have been stalled by resistance from hardliners.
"We have to fight Daesh where it is trying to develop in Libya, but the precondition is the constitution of a new national unity government," Jean-Marc Ayrault told i-Tele television, referring to the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.
"We can't wait any longer. It's enough. There are some who are blocking things for personal reasons and their own interests and I think we shouldn't exclude putting sanctions on them."
Ayrault said he would press for European foreign ministers to agree sanctions on individuals at a ministerial meeting in Brussels on March 14.
Diplomats renewed discussions this week on imposing travel bans and asset freezes on certain individuals, although a consensus among the 28 nations has yet to be reached with diplomats, saying Greece in particular was opposed to the move.
"We can't let the Libyan situation continue. It's not only a danger for the Libyans, but the region and it threatens Europe," Ayrault said.
The United Nations is seeking to unite factions and militias that have competed for power since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and Western powers say the U.N. process is the only hope of bringing stability and stemming Islamic militancy.
United Nations sanctions monitors said on Thursday Islamic State had greatly expanded its control over territory in Libya and the militants are now claiming to be the key defense for the North African state against foreign military intervention.
French aircraft have been conducting reconnaissance flights over Libya, where Paris took a leading role in a 2011 NATO air campaign that helped rebels overthrow Muammar Gaddafi's autocratic rule.
Diplomats and Libyan officials have confirmed that French military advisers are currently operating on the ground in conjunction with Britain and the United States, which has already struck Islamic State targets in the country.
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Saudi Arabia, Iran must shape 'cold peace,' Obama says
By Susan Heavey
WASHINGTON, March 10 (Reuters) - Wars and chaos in the Middle East will not end until Saudi Arabia and Iran can find a way to "share the neighborhood" and make some kind of peace, U.S. President Barack Obama said in a magazine interview released on Thursday.
"The competition between the Saudis and the Iranians, which has helped to feed proxy wars and chaos in Syria and Iraq and Yemen, requires us to say to our friends, as well as to the Iranians, that they need to find an effective way to share the neighborhood and institute some sort of cold peace," Obama told The Atlantic.
In a wide ranging interview on foreign policy, Obama also put a share of the blame for the crisis in Libya on Washington's European allies. Libya is embroiled in political chaos after its 2011 uprising and facing a security vacuum and a growing threat from Islamic State.
"When I go back and I ask myself what went wrong, there's room for criticism, because I had more faith in the Europeans, given Libya's proximity, being invested in the follow-up," Obama said.
The Obama administration withdrew U.S. troops from Iraq but has grappled with years of Middle East turmoil since the Arab Spring uprising. Obama, in his final year in the White House, said there were limits on how far the United States could police the region.
"You have countries that are failing to provide prosperity and opportunity for their people. You've got a violent, extremist ideology, or ideologies, that are turbocharged through social media," he said. "You've got countries that have very few civic traditions, so that as autocratic regimes start fraying, the only organizing principles are sectarian."
On Syria, now in its fifth year of civil war, Obama defended his decision not to launch strikes there in 2013, despite concerns over President Bashar al-Assad's use of chemical weapons. Critics have seen that as a missed opportunity that might have helped bring an end to the war.
"For me to push the pause button at that moment, I knew, would cost me politically," he said. "I believe ultimately it was the right decision to make."
He also discussed Russia, which has increased its role in the Middle East by staking out a role in Syria and infuriating Washington with its support of Assad, who the United States and other Western nations have said must leave power.
On Russian President Vladimir Putin, Obama said the two have "very businesslike" meetings, adding: "He understands that Russia's overall position in the world is significantly diminished."
The Atlantic article is at theatln.tc/1QJNBM0 (Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Frances Kerry)
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