U.S. Apparently Alone in Sanctions; Allies Are Cool : West Europeans Term Measures Ineffective

West European nations reacted negatively Wednesday to President Reagan’s call for economic sanctions against Libya for its alleged role in last month’s terrorist bombings at Rome and Vienna airports.

The Europeans’ coolness appears to leave the United States alone in its determination to discipline Libya’s Col. Moammar Kadafi by shutting off trade with the North African Arab nation.

Special U.S. envoy Stephen J. Ledogar briefed ambassadors of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Brussels, arguing that Washington has firm evidence that Libya directly supported the terrorist attacks. But he failed to persuade any of the nations to support Reagan’s proposals.

Most West European nations expressed sympathy with the U.S. intention to punish international terrorism against innocent victims, but their officials declared that economic sanctions are simply not effective.

Privately, some diplomats complained that the United States has not established a clear-cut case against Kadafi and that U.S. companies will continue to trade with Libya through third-country corporations.

But the diplomats also admitted that West European nations are not likely to antagonize, without overriding reasons, a country from which they import oil and with which they carry on a profitable trade.

West German government officials said Wednesday that their country will not join in Reagan’s economic sanctions. Government spokesman Friedhelm Ost declared that Bonn sympathizes with U.S. views, but added, “Experience shows that sanctions, regardless of who imposes them, have never had the desired result and have often produced the opposite effect.”

He said there is evidence linking Libya to the attacks, in which 15 travelers, including five Americans, were killed, and that West Germany plans to consult with its allies on a possible joint response.

Not a Policy Device

Other officials said that a Wednesday Cabinet meeting under the direction of Chancellor Helmut Kohl agreed that economic sanctions should not be used as a weapon of foreign policy.

Bonn officials said the answer to airport terrorism is for West European nations to intensify their security.

About 1,500 German citizens work in Libya, which is Bonn’s third-largest petroleum supplier after Britain and Nigeria. West German trade with Libya runs to $2.8 billion annually.

In London, where the Conservative government of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has taken a hard line on terrorism, there is similarly no support for the American sanctions. Foreign Office officials said that economic measures against other countries have had little impact and therefore are of little use.

“The prime minister remains as dedicated to stopping terrorism as anyone,” an aide said, “but it is a question of effectiveness.”

Protection at Heathrow

Although the British declined to invoke sanctions, they have severely tightened security at London’s Heathrow Airport. In recent days, heavily armed British soldiers have been stationed in and around the air terminals. And a spokesman for Scotland Yard said Wednesday that beginning today, police officers patrolling the terminals will be armed with submachine guns. This is considered a significant step in a country where the police traditionally go unarmed.

Home Secretary Douglas Hurd said of the decision to arm the officers, “It is a policy that will be kept under constant review.”

Britain broke diplomatic relations with Libya in April, 1984, when shots from the Libyan Embassy in London killed a police officer during an anti-Kadafi demonstration.

Britain sells no military equipment to Libya, but it does conduct trade. An estimated 5,000 Britons work in Libya, many for U.S. oil companies, the Foreign Office said.

In Rome, officials reacted cautiously, with the Foreign Ministry declaring that Italy will reserve judgment until it confers with other members of the European Communities.

Italian officials noted privately that Reagan had not presented any hard evidence at his news conference Tuesday linking Kadafi to the airport attacks.

Huge Italian Stake

Italy has the largest stake in Libya of any Western country. There is about $4 billion annually in two-way trade, according to the International Monetary Fund, and 12,000 to 15,000 Italians work in the country. And there is a historical tie. Some or all of Libya has been governed by Italians during at least three periods since the early 19th Century.

In Brussels, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said that Belgium, too, has serious reservations over the effect of economic sanctions in combatting terrorism.

In Austria, the state-owned Voest Alpine firm said it will complete construction of a huge steel mill in Libya.

“If all of Western Europe boycotted Libya,” a spokesman said, “then it would certainly have consequences for us. We would have to then see how to continue the project.”

Libya and the Soviet Union supply much of Austria’s crude oil.

Austrian Foreign Minister Leopold Gratz said the government had no solid evidence linking Libya to the Dec. 27 attack on Vienna airport, in which two travelers were killed.

In the Netherlands, Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers said his government will not take any steps leading to an escalation of conflict in the Middle East.

In Paris, French officials reacted negatively to the idea of economic sanctions. French diplomats noted that they have been treading a delicate line with the Kadafi regime because France supports the government of Chad in its fight against a northern insurgent movement aided by Libya.

The French government is not likely to further antagonize the Libyans at this time, the diplomats said.

Yardstick Is Success

Still, French Premier Laurent Fabius said in a television interview Wednesday night that External Relations Minister Roland Dumas will soon meet with British and German officials to try to work out a common European position on Reagan’s call for sanctions.

Asked to express his personal feelings about sanctions against Libya, Fabius replied: “I am favorable above all to sanctions that work. Ineffective sanctions do not interest me at all.”

The Swedish government said it is not planning any sanctions unless the United Nations adopts a resolution against the Tripoli regime.

The two newest members of the European Communities, Spain and Portugal, said they are opposed to any Libyan sanctions.

A Spanish Foreign Ministry spokesman said that despite a request from Washington, “the Spanish government does not favor economic sanctions for political reasons.”

In Brussels, representatives from the 12 Common Market nations met Wednesday, but nothing substantial emerged, since a meeting of foreign ministers is scheduled for Jan. 27.

Another member, Greece, expressed strong disapproval of sanctions against Libya and has called on the European Communities to seek ways of reducing tension in the Mediterranean.

Even Turkey, a staunch NATO ally of the United States, showed no enthusiasm for Reagan’s proposals. Officials in Ankara said they will have to weigh their desire to combat terrorism with the interests of Islamic solidarity and economic ties to Libya.

About 30,000 Turks work in Libya, mainly on construction projects, and Turkey imports 16% of its oil from Libya.

Times staff writers Tyler Marshall and Stanley Meisler contributed to this story from London and Paris.