Tripoli: Talks between South Africa’s President Zuma and Col Gaddafi in Tripoli have ended with no announcement of progress towards an end to Libya’s conflict. Zuma said Col Gaddafi would agree to a ceasefire but would not step down – as demanded by Nato and Libyan rebels.
The ceasefire proposal was rejected last month after a mediation mission by Zuma on behalf of the African Union.
A spokesman for Libya’s rebels dismissed calls for a ceasefire, and promised to continue their offensive.
Italy Foreign Minister Franco Frattini is expected to visit the rebel-held city of Benghazi on Tuesday.
Frattini will meet members of the Libya Transitional National Council, the opposition alliance against Gaddafi.
His visit comes a day after a news conference in Rome where eight senior Libyan army officers announced their defection from Col Gaddafi’s forces.
On Monday, Nato temporarily lifted its no-fly zone over Libya to allow President Jacob Zuma’s South African air force plane to land at the main military air base next to Tripoli.
Zuma emerged from the talks saying Gaddafi is ready to accept an African Union initiative for a ceasefire that would stop all hostilities, including Nato airstrikes in support of rebel forces.
“He is ready to implement the road map,” said the South African president.
He added that Nato raids were undermining African mediation efforts.
“We discussed the necessity of giving the Libyan people the opportunity to solve their problem on their own,” he added.
But the calls for a ceasefire were immediately rejected by rebel Foreign Minister Fathi Baja, in Benghazi.
“We refuse completely. We don’t consider it a political initiative, it is only some stuff that Gaddafi wants to announce to stay in power,” he told media.
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