Hegemony: France: Gathafi could stay in Libya if quits politics

PARIS - France accepts Moamer Gathafi could stay in Libya if he quits politics, under a ceasefire deal to end a

Diplomatic contacts intensify

Russia presses ahead with mediation efforts to end conflict between Libyan regime, rebel forces

conflict with rebels backed by Paris, the French foreign minister said on Wednesday.

"One of the possibilities being considered is that he stay in Libya but on the clear condition that he steps aside from Libyan political life," the minister, Alain Juppe, told LCI television.

"That is what we are waiting for before we start the political process for a ceasefire."

Meanwhile Russia on Wednesday was to host Libyan leader Moamer Gathafi's foreign minister in Moscow as it presses ahead with mediation efforts to end the conflict between his regime and rebel forces.

Foreign Minister Abdelati al-Obeidi will be the highest-ranking Gathafi official to visit Moscow since the conflict with the rebels erupted and is expected to hold talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

His visit was revealed in a statement by a Russian foreign ministry official to state news agencies a day earlier but formal details of the meetings have yet to be announced.

Russia backed the UN resolution that opened the way for Western military air strikes against Gathafi targets but has since expressed fury with the duration of the campaign and accused the West of taking sides in a civil war.

Along with the African Union, Moscow has positioned itself as a potential mediator in the crisis and President Dmitry Medvedev's envoy has held talks in both Tripoli and the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

"We will continue to search for a compromise," Medvedev said on Tuesday while on a visit to Germany. "In my opinion it is reachable."

Medvedev has strongly backed Western calls for Gathafi to quit but Russia has also denied speculation it could be ready to offer the Libyan leader sanctuary.

Meanwhile, the pro-Gathafi Libyan ambassador to Moscow rejected the idea that Wednesday's meetings could be aimed at finding a formula for Gathafi to quit power.

"The political future of our country is an internal matter of Libya," Amir al-Garib told the Moskovskie Novosti newspaper in an interview. "Not one foreign state has the right to interfere in our affairs."

"I assure you that the leader of the Libyan revolution Moamer Gathafi has no intention of leaving the state and will not discuss any proposals about this."

He said that the main aim of al-Obeidi's visit to Moscow was "finding peace".

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