Libyan envoy arrives in Turkey for talks; Italy recognizes Libyan rebels
Having departed from Athens, Greece, the Libyan deputy foreign minister has arrived in the Turkish capitol of Ankara, in an effort to reach some kind of resolution to the bloody civil war that is ripping apart of the North African nation.
Abdel Ati al-Obeidi is scheduled to meet his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu and try to hammer out a ceasefire between Moammar Gaddafi’s army and the rebel forces based in eastern Libya.
However, it is not clear who among the Libyan opposition group (if any) will meet with the Turkish minister.
We will talk and see if there is common basis for a ceasefire, a Turkish official said
There has been some speculation that perhaps Gaddafi is seeking to arrange an exile in Turkey (or perhaps to some other country arranged by Turkish officials).
Meanwhile, the Italian government (formerly a close ally of Gaddafi) has said that it now recognizes the Libyan rebel groups as the country’s legitimate government, following the lead of France and Qatar.
Moreover, Franco Frattini, Italy’s foreign minister, dismissed a message from a representative of Gaddafi seeking talks to end the fighting in Libya, citing that the request was not credible because it did not mention the Libyan leader resigning from power.
After a meeting with a member of the Libyan rebel council, Ali Essawi, Frattini stated that any negotiations with Tripoli would have to include the departure of Gaddafi.
We have decided to recognize the council as the only political, legitimate interlocutor to represent Libya, Frattini told reporters.
A solution for the future of Libya has a pre-condition - that Gaddafi's regime leaves and is out and that Gaddafi himself and his family leave the country.”
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