Russia urges diplomacy to end Libya crisis

SOCHI, Russia, July 5 (UPI) -- Russian officials stepped up efforts to end civil war in Libya, meeting with the president of South Africa, who offered to mediate, and NATO leaders.

Simultaneously, World Chess Federation President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, Russia's informal go-between with Moammar Gadhafi, traveled to Tripoli, Libya, for another visit, The New York Times reported Monday.

Ilyumzhinov told news agencies he met with one of Gadhafi's sons, Mohammed, and was told the long-time strongman would never leave Libya.

Russia has been critical of the NATO-led bombing campaign as overstepping the United Nations' mandate to protect civilians. Russia's Foreign Affairs Ministry also condemned recent reports French officials delivered weapons to Libyan rebels, saying that also violated the U.N. resolution.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said there was no "common understanding" about how the U.N. resolution was being implemented, The Independent reported.

"We want this resolution to be fulfilled literally, without expanding its interpretation," Lavrov said.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said NATO would keep up its air campaign until the threat to civilians from Gadhafi's forces ended.

"Everything NATO does," Rasmussen said, "is in full compliance with the U.N. mandate," he said.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has, however, said Gadhafi must leave office and called the meeting with Rasmussen in Sochi helpful.

"I think all of us are inspired with the results," Interfax news agency reported Medvedev as saying. "The meeting was rather productive, and I hope we made progress."

Medvedev also met with South African President Jacob Zuma, who has negotiated for the African Union and proposed an interim government take power in Libya, Russian state television reported.

Meanwhile another Gadhafi son, Saif, repeated the threat of initiating attacks on NATO members, The Independent reported.

Besides saying Britain and France were legitimate targets, the younger Gadhafi had a warning for French President Nicolas Sarkozy: "You are not going to win. You have no chance, zero chance, to win the war here."