Libyan government aide holds talks in Britain

London: A key Libyan official involved in negotiations on the future of Muammar Gaddafi's regime said on Friday that Tripoli was attempting to hold talks with US, Britain and France to find a mutual end to the crisis.

Abdul-Ati al-Obeidi, a former Libyan prime minister, said Gaddafi's government was reaching out to those leading the international military campaign in an attempt to halt airstrikes against regime targets which began on March 19.

The claim follows confirmation that a Libyan government aide has held talks in Britain with UK officials in recent days.

Libyan government aide holds talks in Britain

"We are trying to talk to the British, the French and the Americans to stop the killing of people. We are trying to find a mutual solution," al-Obeidi told Britain's Channel 4 News, speaking in Tripoli.

Al-Obeidi was involved last month in Gaddafi-sanctioned negotiations with the African Union.

British Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman, Steve Field, said the UK has been in contact with a number of Libyan officials over recent weeks, though he declined to give specific details.

"We are sending them all one very clear message, which is that Gaddafi must go," he told reporters.

Mohammed Ismail, a senior aide to Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, has met with and also spoken by phone to British officials, who repeated to him their public calls for the Libyan leader to step down.

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