Brazil not rush to recognize Libyan NTC

Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota said here on Friday that Brazil was not in a rush to recognize the rebel National Transition Council (NTC) as the sole authority of the Libyan people. "We don't feel that it is necessary at that stage," Patriota said while answering a question at a joint press conference with his Bulgarian counterpart Nickolay Mladenov. Patriota said Brazil believes that at the forthcoming United Nations (UN) General Assembly the decision would be made on who is the legitimate representative of Libya. "At that point this will decide for the international community whether one or another group has full control over the territory and is seen as a legitimate representative," Patriota said. He added that Brazilian has sent representatives to the Paris conference on Libya's future Thursday while Brazilian ambassador in Cairo has been in touch with NTC representatives in Benghazi. When asked to comment on the results of the Paris conference, Patriota said the international community should insist on immediate ceasefire with international monitoring. For his part, Mladenov, whose country has already recognized NTC as the legitimate authority of Libya, said "henceforth we should seek maximum agreement to support the establishment of new institutions of Libya, working with the NTC as a transitional authority in Libya." It was also agreed during Patriota's one-day visit to Bulgaria that Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, daughter of a Bulgarian immigrant, would visit the country later this year to expand bilateral relations.