«The regime is looking for a solution»

The meeting between Prime Minister Giorgos Papandreou and Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s envoy and acting Prime Minister, Abdelati Obeidi, is now finished.

Shortly after, the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dimitris Droutsas, said that: "We had a series of meetings in recent days about the developments in Libya. Among other things, our PM spoke with his Libyan counterpart, and their talk led to the decision to send a special envoy to Athens, whom we have received in the context, which we, as the Greek government, have stressed from the beginning: we must continue the efforts for a political and diplomatic solution in Libya".

«As this envoy informed us, he will continue his meetings tomorrow in Turkey and then in Malta», Droutsas continued. «We stressed and reiterated the clear message of the international community: total respect and implementation of UN resolutions, an immediate ceasefire and a stop to violence and warfare, particularly against the civilian population of Libya. From the words of the Libyan envoy, it seems that the regime is looking for a solution», he added. «We need to make a serious effort for peace and stability in the region. Greece will continue to offer its good services towards this effort. We are in contact with our allies and partners, and will inform them about these meetings, as well as our thoughts and suggestions», the minister concluded.

This meeting occurred at the request of the Libyan PM Al Baghdadi Ali Al Mahmoudi to his Greek counterpart, after their teleconference on Saturday.

Papandreou had a series of telephone communications in the past few days on developments in North Africa and particularly in Libya.

Specifically, the Greek PM had a telephone conversation with the Prime Minister of Britain, David Cameron, on Friday. On Saturday he contacted his counterpart in Qatar, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, and Prime Minister of Libya, Al Bagkntanti Ali Al-Mahmoud. On Sunday, Papandreou had a telephone conversation with the Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Earlier on Sunday, the Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Abdelati Obeidi, had crossed from Libya to neighboring Tunisia, and from there flew to Athens, as a source from the security forces of Djerba airport told Reuters yesterday. According to the international news agency, Obeidi came to Athens to deliver a message from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to the Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou.

When asked on the whereabouts of Obeidi, the man of the Tunisian security services, who spoke under anonymity, said: "He left for Athens". Papandreou’s Office confirmed the story, but the meeting point was kept secret for security reasons

Please note that on Tuesday, March 8, the Greek PM had a telephone conversation with Colonel Gaddafi, at the initiative of the latter. Papandreou reportedly heard the views of his interlocutor on the current situation in his country, and then underlined the importance of the Resolution of the UN Security Council to the Libyan leader. He also stressed the need to find a solution to avoid the ongoing humanitarian crisis, as well as the escalation of confrontation and violence.