--- title: TIME's 2009 Interview with Libya's Muammar Gaddafi | TIME description: The Libyan leader spoke with TIME editors Michael Elliott and Romesh Ratnesar, and allowed a portion of the interview to be videotaped canonical: https://time.com/video/EvJsCIfA/ og:title: TIME's 2009 Interview with Libya's Muammar Gaddafi og:description: The Libyan leader spoke with TIME editors Michael Elliott and Romesh Ratnesar, and allowed a portion of the interview to be videotaped og:url: https://time.com/video/EvJsCIfA/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/EvJsCIfA/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: TIME's 2009 Interview with Libya's Muammar Gaddafi twitter:description: The Libyan leader spoke with TIME editors Michael Elliott and Romesh Ratnesar, and allowed a portion of the interview to be videotaped twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/EvJsCIfA/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # TIME's 2009 Interview with Libya's Muammar Gaddafi > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: TIME's 2009 Interview with Libya's Muammar Gaddafi [Watch (HLS stream): TIME's 2009 Interview with Libya's Muammar Gaddafi](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EvJsCIfA.m3u8) (5:52)  _Published 2009-09-25. The Libyan leader spoke with TIME editors Michael Elliott and Romesh Ratnesar, and allowed a portion of the interview to be videotaped_ --- Jul 27, 2023 1:14 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Purging Libya's Schools of Gaddafi's Propaganda](/video/xmXKZXli/) ### Purging Libya's Schools of Gaddafi's Propaganda [TIME's 2009 Interview with Muammar Gaddafi](/video/scRXId3P/) ### TIME's 2009 Interview with Muammar Gaddafi [TIME's Exclusive Interview with Gaddafi's Son Saif](/video/J1nlyZwp/) ### TIME's Exclusive Interview with Gaddafi's Son Saif --- ## Transcript Thank you very much brother leader for taking the time in your busy schedule in New York. The thing is we met your prince Saif. You gave a long and detailed speech at the United Nations General Assembly yesterday. Tell us what do you think of the reactions to the speech. -[ Foreign Language ] I know what they said but then I have nothing to say, anything reaction or what. [ Foreign Language ] Obama is a glimpse in the dark for four years. After that, I'm afraid we might go back to square one. >> Were you pleased by the response of people in the room? -[ Foreign Language ] Of course. >> One of the ideas that you raised is the idea that the Security Council has presently constituted needs to be reformed. Did you sense and do you believe that this is an idea that has the support of other countries in the world and how do you proposed to push it forward? -[ Foreign Language ] [ unk ] not support the reform of the Security Council in the way that I mentioned it. They don't have the argument with the [ unk ] so that they would not give the support to the idea. >> How do you think reform of the Security Council might be advanced? What can-- what can be done next? -[ Foreign Language ] We got the response in the General Assembly with new reforms and new structure. >> Your son, Saif wrote in the, you know, Times that the US has not kept its part of the deal to fully normalize relations with Libya. What do you expect the US to do to really normalize relations with Libya? -[ Foreign Language ] I don't want to go into details right now but generally speaking I know that America has not keep up the whole instructions --. >> Are there specific areas where you would like to see the Americans do more? -[ Foreign Language ] Like for instance the area to unable Libya, to put Libya in the position to be able to use the nuclear energy. This would means once that Libya has decided to take this far. >> Given your experience in dealing with this issue, the response that you've received and some of your disappointment with what United States has offered in return for what you're giving up, your program, what advice would you give to a country like Iran? And what advice would you give to Unites States in dealing with this issue and in the advance of nuclear issues? >> America [ Foreign Language ] >> America has the responsibility and should show the responsibility to reward and give credit such countries that take such decision so that they will be able to use the nuclear energy and nuclear power in the peaceful means. [ Foreign Language ] Upon the advice of our American friends and others when they told us to-- we need to get in touch with [ unk ] in Iran and encourage them and talk to them, so that they would not cause any use of the nuclear energy for miliary grievances and they have the potentials as they have and capability that they have for peaceful means. The reaction of the [ unk ] from those such countries was what would they gain in milirary so that would be-- would be [ unk ] example of such countries [ unk ] Libra. -[ Foreign Language ] A country like Iran, saying you ask questions why it is put in disregard for the Israelis and the attention is more focused just for the Iranian upon them. >> Libya is closed to both the Iranians and the North Koreans on this topic. -[ Foreign Language ] Yes indeed, in fact we have convey to them the wish of the friends that they could [ unk ] us. >> Are you saying that the Iranians and North Koreans don't think that Libya got enough benefits for giving up its program? -[ Foreign Language ] That's what they say to us. >> Can we talk a little about Africa, brother leader because you're chairman of the African Union at the moment? Do you welcome growing Chinese investment in Africa? -[ Foreign Language ] I would say the [ unk ] regarding the Chinese investment in Africa from the economic point of view, it's been efficient with any [ unk ] but the concern and now the worry that it accompany-- that it is accompanied by human settlers-- human settlements plus-- [ Foreign Language ]. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME's 2009 Interview with Libya's Muammar Gaddafi","description":"The Libyan leader spoke with TIME editors Michael Elliott and Romesh Ratnesar, and allowed a portion of the interview to be videotaped","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/EvJsCIfA/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2009-09-25T01:17:26.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EvJsCIfA.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/video/EvJsCIfA/","duration":"PT5M52S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/video/EvJsCIfA/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}} ```