AL JAZEERA ENGLISH: Abdel Ati al-Obeidi, Libya's deputy foreign minister, is in Athens to deliver a message to the Greek prime minister.Abdel Ati al-Obeidi, Libya's deputy foreign minister, arrived in Athens to deliver a message from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to the Greek prime minister, raising the prospect of diplomatic efforts to end a war facing stalemate on the battlefield.
Obeidi crossed into neighbouring Tunisia and travelled from Djerba airport to the Greek capital on Sunday, according to a security worker at the airport.
"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 Tripoli, the Libyan capital, Libyan officials were not immediately available to comment on Obeidi's movements.
The Libyan official met with Papandreou later on Sunday evening.
"What the message is, we don't know yet," Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught reported from Tripoli.
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. » | Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies | Sunday, April 03, 2011
