Libya to Halt Fuel Supplies to Switzerland

Issam Zanati, director of the Libyan Tamoil company, indicated to  the AFP news agency  that the decision was not made by Tamoil.
 
However, the move comes three months after a diplomatic crisis erupted between the two countries, sparked by the arrest in Geneva of one of the sons of Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, "Hannibal" and his wife. Servants of the two had accused them of serious mistreatment.  Although the charges against the couple were dropped after the servants withdrew their complaint, Libya has demanded that Switzerland apologise over the incident. Libya took a number of measures against Swiss firms and Swiss nationals at the time. It also threatened to halt oil supplies.

Rolf Hartl, managing director of the Swiss Oil Association, told the Swiss news agency that the country's oil supplies would not be affected. By the time any shortfall came to be felt, importers would have been able to compensate from other suppliers, he explained.

Switzerland imports about 20 per cent of its oil consumption from Libya. Libya owns one of the country's two oil refineries and 320 service  stations.

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