Kadafi, in Moscow, Criticizes U.S. but Also Scolds Hijackers

Col. Moammar Kadafi, Libya’s usually flamboyant leader, made a low-key call Monday for U.N. condemnation of the United States for intercepting an Egyptian airliner to seize four Palestinian hijackers.

However, Kadafi, often described by American officials as a supporter and trainer of terrorists, also reproached the Palestinians for hijacking the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro.

“These acts in themselves can only be condemned, but we must look into the causes for emergence of these groups,” Kadafi told a news conference, speaking slowly and almost inaudibly in Arabic. His remarks were translated into Russian and English.

Kadafi, winding up an official visit here, criticized the United States for what he termed “the hijacking of an Egyptian aircraft” carrying the four Palestinians. They were turned over to Italian police after the plane landed Friday at a U.S.-Italian military base on Sicily.

“The Security Council of the United Nations should speak against this wanton act,” Kadafi said.