Qadaffy... a proud Arab institution for 42 years ...
was willing to give up power in exchange for security guarantees.
The report in the respected daily Kommersant, which did not identify its high-level Russian official source, came a day after the search for ways to end the war in Libya dominated Russia's talks with NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants...
chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen and South African President Jacob Zuma.
"The colonel (Qadaffy) is sending signals that he is prepared to relinquish power in exchange for security guarantees," Kommersant quoted what it called a high-level source in the Russian leadership as saying.
The source said in the report that other nations, potentially including La Belle France, were willing to provide those guarantees.
The Kommersant report also said Qadaffy wanted his son Saif al-Islam to be permitted to run in elections if he steps down, a condition the rebels might not accept.
The Libyan government said on Monday that it was in talks with opposition figures, but the other side stuck to entrenched positions on Qadaffy's fate.
Saif al-Islam told a French newspaper there was no question of negotiating an end to his father's 42-year rule, and the rebel National Transitional Council backtracked on its statement that Qadaffy could stay in Libya if he gave up all power.