Libya Says Qaddafi Government Held Talks With U.S.

A Libyan man mourns a rebel fighter killed during recent fighting with forces loyal to Muammar Qaddafi near Brega in rebel-held Benghazi on July 17.

A Libyan government spokesman says that representatives of Muammar Qaddafi's embattled government have held face-to-face talks with U.S. officials on repairing ties between the countries.

A U.S. statement issued in New Delhi, where Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is on an official visit, said the meeting "was not a negotiation," but was merely "the delivery" of the message and that no future meetings were planned.

The meeting came after the July 15 decision by the United States and more than 30 other countries meeting in Istanbul to recognize the eastern-based rebels fighting the government as the country's legitimate representatives.

Libyan spokesman Moussa Ibrahim told reporters in Tripoli that the talks were held on July 16 but he refused to say where or which officials took part.

compiled from agency reports