A Libyan envoy for Moammar Gadhafi held talks
Thursday with Greek foreign ministry officials as part of an apparent Libyan diplomatic blitz before a European Union meeting to discuss the country's upheaval. Top diplomat Mohamed Tahir Siala met Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Dollis and Secretary General Ioannis Zeppos, after similar talks were held in Lisbon with Portugal's Foreign Minister Luis Amado on Wednesday night. None made statements after the 50-minute meeting at the Foreign Ministry in central Athens.
However, Greek diplomatic officials said Siala conveyed the Libyan regime's positions for a solution to the crisis. They said the positions did not differ substantially from those expressed publicly by Moammar Gadhafi and other Libyan officials.
The "true intentions cannot be diagnosed," the officials said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.
They did not give details of what proposals might have been made, but said Greece will inform the other EU countries about the discussions during the 27-nation bloc's foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels on Thursday. Greece conveyed its position that the bloodshed in Libya must end immediately and that the international community must remain united and exercise pressure against the regime, they said.
The Foreign Ministry said the meeting was arranged in agreement with European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton before the EU foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels.
A Greek source said the request for the meeting came via the Libyan embassy, and that similar requests had also been sent to a number of other European countries. The source asked not to be named as he was not authorized to discuss the matter with the press.
Greece has traditionally had good relations with Libya and with Gadhafi, with whom Prime Minister George Papandreou held talks during a visit there last summer. Papandreou received a phone call from Gadhafi Tuesday night, and urged the Libyan leader to do all he could to stop further bloodshed and a descent into full-blown civil war.
Athens has also helped in evacuations from the north African country — including more than 10,000 Chinese nationals — after fighting between rebels and forces loyal to Gadhafi broke out last month.
On Wednesday, another envoy — a high-ranking member of the Libyan military — flew to Cairo with a message from the embattled Gadhafi.
source: AP
