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Brussels - European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Friday said members of the 27-nation bloc were "looking at the details" of Libya's ceasefire offer.
Tripoli's announcement came as a coalition of Western and Arab nations geared up to launch air strikes after a UN Security Council vote approving military action to stop Moamer Kadhafi from crushing an insurgency.
Asked to comment on Libyan Foreign Minister Mussa Kussa's offers of an immediate ceasefire and halt to all military operations, Ashton said that "along with our colleagues we're looking at the details of that".
"On the military side, the critical questions will be for the military planners to work out what should be done. The issue of course is what's the significance of the statement on the ceasefire and how that fits in."
In a brief news conference held on the heels of the Thursday evening UN vote, Ashton said the EU was looking to tighten the screws on Kadhafi with new sanctions while offering further relief to ease humanitarian problems on Libya's borders with Egypt and Tunisia.
"Our view is that Kadhafi should go," she reiterated on behalf of the EU.
Ashton said she was in continued contact with leaders of the Arab League and African Union and would travel to Paris to attend a tripartite meeting there of the EU, the African Union and the Arab League.
