'Gaddafi prepared to go'

06 July 2011 - 01:46 By Reuters and Times LIVE
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A rebel passes a poster of resistance fighter Omar al-Mukhtar, aka Lion of the Desert, hero of the Libyan resistance against Italian colonisers Picture: THAIER AL-SUDANI/REUTERS
A rebel passes a poster of resistance fighter Omar al-Mukhtar, aka Lion of the Desert, hero of the Libyan resistance against Italian colonisers Picture: THAIER AL-SUDANI/REUTERS

Muammar Gaddafi is sounding out the possibility of handing over power, a Russian newspaper has said.

It came a day after Russia hosted President Jacob Zuma - who has tried to broker a peace deal for Libya - and Nato secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen for talks on the strife-torn North African country.

Five months into the conflict, there has been a flurry of reports about talks on Gaddafi ending his 41 years in power in exchange for security guarantees.

Kommersant based its story on a high-level source in Moscow. But the report was denied in Tripoli, and Italy said it believed talk of a deal was a ruse by Gaddafi's administration.

Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said: "Information about negotiations about Gaddafi stepping down or seeking a refuge inside or outside the country is simply untrue."

Despite the talk of a deal, fighting between government forces and rebels continues. A reporter in Misrata, 200km east of Tripoli, said rebel positions in the Dafniya district on the city's western outskirts came under heavy artillery fire yesterday.

Some analysts say Gaddafi is starting to contemplate an exit plan as shortages of cash and fuel, the Nato bombing campaign and rebel military pressure shorten the odds on him being able to hold on to power.

But Western diplomats caution that it is in Gaddafi's interests to send out conflicting signals about possible deals, in the hope that it will sow confusion among the rebels and the fragile Western alliance trying to push him out.

Kommersant reported Western powers, including France, were receptive to a deal with Gaddafi if he agreed to step down.

"The colonel [Gaddafi] is sending signals that he is prepared to relinquish power in exchange for security guarantees," the newspaper quoted what it called a high-level source in the Russian leadership as saying.

On his return from Russia, Zuma said he had held a "successful" meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev about Libya.

Zuma's office issued a statement saying he had asked Nato to persuade the rebel National Transitional Council to come to the negotiating table.

"The meeting was very successful, and I am confident that it will contribute significantly to reaching a solution that will bring peace and stability in Libya," the statement said.

The rebel council is insisting Gaddafi must resign for there to be an end to the fighting.

Zuma is part of an African Union ad hoc committee on Libya that has been increasingly critical of Nato's military campaign.

"We agree that the military solution is not the correct way to resolve problem," said Zuma, noting that Russia and the AU were in agreement on the need to find a negotiated solution.

During his time in Moscow, Zuma met Nato's Rasmussen.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated bluntly that Russia did not support the Western alliance's bombing campaign, aimed at weakening Gaddafi.

"But we have a complete agreement in positions on how there is no alternative to a peaceful resolution [in Libya], there is no alternative to a shift to peaceful talks there," he said.

On Monday, the Libyan government said it held talks in Italy, Norway and Egypt with senior figures in the opposition about finding a peaceful way out of the conflict. But the Italian government denied any talks had taken place on its soil.

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