By DPA,
Lisbon: The Libyan regime is willing to launch negotiations about a transition in the country torn by civil conflict, the Portuguese daily Publico reported Thursday on its website.
A Libyan representative gave such a message to Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado, who met the representative in Lisbon Wednesday evening, the daily quoted a diplomatic source as saying.
The identity of the Libyan representative is not known. European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton had been informed about the meeting.
Libya had requested the meeting with Portugal, which chairs the UN’s Libya sanctions committee.
Meanwhile in Brussels, Amado told the Portuguese news agency Lusa he had “clearly” told the Libyan representative that Muammar Gaddafi’s time as Libyan leader was over.
Amado said he had also held talks with Libyan opposition representatives.
Amado was in Brussels to attend an EU foreign ministers’ emergency meeting on Libya.
Portuguese media said Gaddafi might be looking for a country where he could go into exile.