Russian, S.African presidents to meet, discuss Libyan peace efforts - Kremlin

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti)Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in a telephone conversation on Saturday with South African President Jacob Zuma agreed to meet to discuss peace efforts in Libya, the Kremlin press service said.

"In order to agree and coordinate the latest steps in cooperation to settle the internal Libyan conflict, the heads of [the two states] agreed to meet in the near future," the press service said.

The Kremlin did not specify when or where the meeting would take place.

The participants of the African Union summit in Equatorial Guinea on Friday decided not to support or fulfill the International Criminal Court's order to arrest Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

On Monday, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Gaddafi, his son Saif al Islam, and the country's intelligence chief, Abdullah al Senussi for crimes against humanity.

During an earlier African Union meeting in South Africa's capital of Pretoria, the mediators in the Libyan issue stated that Gaddafi had already made an important step by not sending anyone from the current Libyan government to represent the country during possible peace talks.

Libya has been rocked with anti-Gaddafi protests since mid-February. The international military operation began on March 19 following a UN resolution and was extended until late September.

UN Security Council Resolution 1970, passed in February, prohibited states from providing any kind of arms to Libya. March Resolution 1973 authorized nations "to take all necessary measures" to help protect Libyan civilians.