Gadhafi Sends Letter to Arab League, Envoys to Europe, Rebels to Send Envoys to Paris

Nicolas Sarkozy will on Thursday meet envoys of Libya's rebel national council which is fighting to oust strongman Moammar Gadhafi, the French president's office said.

Sarkozy would meet Mahmoud Jibril and Ali Essaoui to discuss the "general situation in Libya, in particular the humanitarian situation and the actions of the national council," a statement said.

Meanwhile, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Libyan officials who landed in Cairo earlier on Wednesday were carrying a letter from Gadhafi for the Arab League.

"The Libyan regime is moving towards contact" with the international community, Frattini said during a parliamentary committee meeting.

The plane from Tripoli was carrying "a Libyan army general and probably the defense minister ... bringing Egypt's transition government a letter from Gadhafi stating his intention to meet with the Arab League," he said.

An airport official in Cairo earlier told Agence France Presse that Abdelrahman al-Zawi, a member of Gadhafi's inner circle responsible for logistics and supplies, was on board the private plane.

Zawi's visit comes as Arab League foreign ministers prepare to meet at the body's Cairo headquarters at the weekend to discuss a no-fly zone over Libya.

Frattini also said Libyan government emissaries may be en route to Brussels to meet European representatives gathering for talks on the Libyan crisis.

"Two planes belonging to the Libyan regime have apparently left Libya headed for Brussels with emissaries of Gadhafi to meet with representatives of the EU and NATO countries meeting tomorrow and the day after tomorrow," he said.

An EU source told AFP that a Libyan government emissary was en route for Portugal for talks with the country's foreign minister.

For its part, the Portuguese foreign ministry said an envoy of Gadhafi will meet Foreign Minister Luis Amado later Wednesday, on the eve of EU's talks on Libya.

"Luis Amado has agreed to meeting a Libyan envoy today at the latter's request, so as to be informed about the situation in Libya," the ministry said in a statement to AFP.

It said the meeting was agreed in coordination with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and was part of preparations for an upcoming foreign ministers meeting and an EU summit.

Furthermore, the Maltese government said a Libyan government official flew to Malta on Wednesday for talks with Maltese Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, before flying on to Portugal.

Mohammed Taher Siyala visited "the Maltese prime minister to explain the Libyan government's position on the recent events," the government said.

"The prime minister reiterated the Maltese government's position ... and insisted that all violence has to stop immediately," it added.