Kremlin mediator to fly to Libya on Monday: report

A Russian envoy will travel to Libya on Monday evening to try to mediate in the conflict, visiting Benghazi and meeting opposition representatives, the Interfax news agency reported Saturday.

“On the evening of June 6 I am flying out to Libya on the president’s order and intend to meet representatives of the opposition and a number of other political forces in Benghazi,” the envoy, Mikhail Margelov, told the agency.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday that he would send Margelov, Russia’s special representative to Africa, to the rebel bastion of Benghazi.

A high-ranking Russian source familiar with the situation told AFP on Thursday that Margelov would also travel to Tripoli.

Margelov told Interfax that he “intended to meet leaders of Libya’s National Transitional Council,” headed by rebel leader Mustafa Abdul-Jalil.

Russia abstained from the UN Security Council resolution on Libya and has called for a negotiated solution to the conflict, which has cost thousands of lives since it erupted in mid-February.