Group of Eight powers gathered in Paris today to thrash out a common line on possible intervention to ground the warplanes pounding Libya's rebels.
As forces loyal to Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi pushed their fierce assault against the rebels to the key town of Ajdabiya, the eight powers were seeking a common front, with host France pushing for a no-fly zone over Libya.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe vowed to step up efforts to get approval for the measure, which is backed by the 22-nation Arab League, considered crucial for dealing with the region.
But Britain and France, which are drafting a resolution for the UN Security Council, failed last week to convince their European Union partners to back the move, and the United States and Russia are also lukewarm.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Paris to sit down with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and their counterparts from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
Clinton has said a no-fly zone plan would be presented to NATO tomorrow.
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China, the only veto-wielding member of the Security Council not represented at the Paris G8 talks, is opposed to a no-fly zone.
France has also proposed targeted bombings against Gaddafi if he attacks his own people.
"In the coming week there could be surgical strikes on airports, and we could scramble Kadhafi's transmission systems," a French government source who asked not to be named said.
In Libya, the poorly equipped rebel forces have been gradually beaten back by forces loyal to Gaddafi, routed from several towns by shelling and airstrikes.
Their opposition national council's representative Mahmoud Jibril and his delegation have been seeking formal support abroad. A US official said Clinton would meet with them in Paris today or early tomorrow.
France has formally recognised the council as Libya's legitimate representatives. The European Union has agreed to talk to them but has so far stopped short of full recognition.