Zuma to meet Medvedev at NATO talks in Russia: source

South African President Jacob Zuma is Monday to meet his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev on the sidelines of a Russia-NATO Council meeting, a Kremlin official said.

Zuma will hold talks with Medvedev at 0930 GMT at a luxury spa in Sochi, said the official, who asked not to be named and gave no further details on the content of the talks.

Both South Africa and Russia are keen to play a mediating role in resolving the conflict in Libya and Medvedev has already sent an envoy to both Tripoli and rebel-held Benghazi for talks.

South African officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the two leaders would likely issue a joint statement calling on NATO to stop the bombing.

The meeting between Zuma and Medvedev coincides with a meeting of the leadership of Russia and NATO in Sochi and the Russian president is also due to meet NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen in the Black Sea city.

However there was no indication yet if Zuma would also meet Rasmussen.

Both Zuma and Medvedev have condemned NATO’s bombing campaign in Libya.