NATO defence ministers meeting in Brussels have resisted calls for an air exclusion zone over Libya aimed at preventing operations by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's air force.
NATO and the European Union began talks on Libya on Thursday night after some of the fiercest fighting of the three-week-old uprising against the Gaddafi regime.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says it plans to move more ships to the Mediterranean in response to the crisis in Libya but more planning is needed on a possible no-fly zone.
Mr Rasmussen says any military action will need to have a clear legal mandate and strong regional support.
He says NATO forces will be monitoring the arms embargo against Libya.
Meanwhile, the United States Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, says the US is shutting down the official Libyan embassy in Washington.
Mrs Clinton, who is visiting Egypt and Tunisia next week, says the US will continue to apply pressure on Colonel Gaddafi to step down.
