Despite their attempts, South African President Jacob Zuma and Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi were unable to reach an agreement to end the fighting in Africa during their meeting on Monday, May 30th. The two leaders have been trying for some time to meet on common ground to create a cease-fire, but neither is willing to compromise on certain points (MSNBC).
Gadhafi agreed to accept an African Union initiative for a cease-fire that would stop all hostilities, including NATO airstrikes in support of rebel forces. "He is ready to implement the road map," commented Zuma on Gadhafi's compromises. However, Gadhafi refuses to step down as the Libyan ruler, which is the rebel's central demand. The rebel Foreign Minister Fathi Baja rejected the African Union's plan immediately. "We refuse completely, we don't consider it a political initiative, it is only some stuff that Gadhafi wants to announce to stay in power," he announced from Benghazi, the de facto rebel capital. Baja believed that Zuma was negotiating an exit strategy for Gadhafi while in Tripoli, but Zuma's office denies any such claims. Baja also announced that the rebels would launch an offensive on Gadhafi soon. Instead, Gadhafi insisted that "all Libyans be given a chance to talk among themselves" (MSNBC).
Although their most recent meeting seems to be their most productive so far, Zuma and Gadhafi have run through these measures before but to little avail. In April, Zuma hosted a delegation of the African Union in Tripoli proposing a truce by the African Union Gadhafi agreed to the truce at the meeting, but quickly broke his promise and resumed his former attacks. The rebels did not accept the truce at the meeting simply because it did not guarantee them their central demand - that Gadhafi would step down from power. Since then, any attempts at cease-fire have resulted in the same disagreements (MSNBC).
Zuma was greeted with much fanfare by Gadhafi's regime during his trip.
