Oxford, MS 4/4/2011 (Penny PayDay) -- Abdel Ati al-Obeidi, Libya's acting foreign minister, has told the Greek prime minister in Athens that embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is seeking an end to fighting in the country."It seems that the Libyan authorities are seeking a solution," Dimitris Droutsas, the Greek foreign minister, said. He added that Obeidi planned to travel on to Malta and Turkey.
Obeidi crossed into neighbouring Tunisia and travelled from Djerba airport to the Greek capital on Sunday and met George Papandreou, the Greek prime minister, later in the day.
"They [Libyan government] requested to send an envoy with a message for prime minister George Papandreou and that is why he is in Athens," a senior Greek government official said.
In a statement, the Greek foreign ministry said it was committed to seeking a "political, diplomatic solution" to the crisis in Libya, where government forces are battling rebels seeking to end Gaddafi's decades-old rule.
"We reiterated the clear message from the international community: respect for and full implementation of UN resolutions, an immediate ceasefire to stop the violence, particularly against the civilian population of Libya."
In Tripoli, the Libyan capital, government officials were not immediately available to comment on Obeidi's movements. The New York Times has reported that Seif al-Islam and Saadi Gaddafi, two of the leader's sons, have created their own plan to remove their father from power amicably and negotiate an end to the conflict.
Papandreou's office said Baghdadi al-Mahmudi, the Libyan prime minister, requested Obeidi's visit during a phone conversation on Saturday. Papandreou also discussed the Libyan crisis with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, on Sunday.
Papandreou has been talking by phone with the leaders of Qatar, Turkey and Britain over the last two days.
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