New Delhi: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who is in Europe after facing decades of ostracism from the West, has condemned what he says is the dictatorship of the UN.
Gaddafi said in Lisbon that the UN was responsible for terrorism and world tensions.
Gaddafi's ties with the West have improved after he withdrew support for terror attacks and plans for building weapons of mass destruction.
He will visit France on Monday for the first time in 30 years, where he is likely to sign contracts on arms, nuclear power and agriculture.
Gaddafi’s son has said in an interview to French daily Le Figaro that Libya would spend over € 3 billion to purchase commercial and military aircraft.
"We will buy more than € 3 billion worth of Airbus, a nuclear reactor, and we also want to buy numerous pieces of military equipment," said Saif al-Islam.
When asked why was a nuclear reactor on the list of purchases, al-Islam replied: "To produce our electricity, which will enable us to export all of our gas and oil."
Gaddafi, who came to power in a 1969 military coup, used to be considered a pariah by the West. His visit, at Sarkozy's invitation, ''marks a significant step in Libya's progressive (return) to the international community,'' said President Sarkozy’s spokesperson, David Martinon.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy signed defence and nuclear energy accords during a controversial visit to Libya in July, which came in the wake of Tripoli's release of foreign medics who had been jailed for eight years for allegedly infecting children with HIV. Paris has denied the arms and nuclear deals were a trade-off for the medics' release.
Gaddafi’s son brushed off concerns about human rights in Libya, insisting in the Le Figaro interview that Libya had no political prisoners and that its human rights situation was better than in Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan or the United States.
With inputs from Reuters and Associated Press
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