With a diplomatic push to end the conflict gathering steam, Abdul Elah al-Khatib said after the meeting that he would head to Tripoli on Tuesday to canvass government views.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is clinging to power despite a four-month-old NATO air campaign and five months of fighting with rebels who have seized large swathes of the oil-rich North African country.

NATO has continued to hammer Gaddafi's forces around Libya, striking twice in central Tripoli on Monday, and Britain has said there would be no let-up during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in August.

But hopes have grown for a negotiated end to a war that has dragged on longer than many initially expected.