• Norway to send fighter jets to Libya
• 'No one is excluded apart from Kadhafi'

Sweden said Friday it supported the United Nations resolution establishing a no-fly zone over Libya but would only consider military action against the country in the event of a NATO request.

"Sweden takes decisions on committing its military troops independently. If we are asked, we will take a position," Foreign Minister Carl Bildt told reporters.

"But NATO must first take a decision and decide on its military contribution. We will then see if they (NATO) need to solicit other countries," he explained.

Bildt said Sweden -- which is not a NATO member -- welcomed the UN security council's decision, taken late Thursday, to establish a no-fly zone over Libya.

The decision open cleared the way for air strikes that France said could come within hours.

Sweden has a long tradition of military non-alignment.

It has been a member of the NATO's Partnership for Peace programme since 1994 and participates in the alliance's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) force in Afghanistan.