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The Libyan and French ambassadors to Malta revealed today how they had regular, discreet meetings over the past six months as the uprising raged in Libya.

French Ambassador Daniel Rondeau, who this morning formally called on Libyan ambassador Saadun Suayeh at the Libyan embassy, also revealed that he had received the rebel leader of the besieged city of Misurata at his residence in Zebbug when the rebel leader stopped in Malta on his way to Paris.

Mr Rondeau said his visit to the Libyan embassy (where the barbed wire protection has been removed) was the first by a foreign diplomat since the Libyan independence flag started to fly on its flagpole.

However, the meetings he had held with his Libyan counterpart over the past six months were important, since they served as an opportunity to discuss the evolving situation and ways how Libya could be assisted, notably in humanitarian aid to Misurata.

The Libyan ambassador said he had always pointed out that he represented the Libyan people as a whole, but the Green flag had continued to flutter from the flagpole for as long as Malta recognised the former government

He said the Maltese government had been aware of his meetings with the French ambassador, and he appreciated the fact that France was among the first countries to help when the uprising started.

Wearing a lapel badge showing the colours of the revolution, the Libyan ambassador said his country now looked forward to peace in freedom.

It was revealed that week that Mr Suayeh also kept contact with the representatives of the Libyan rebels in Malta while the Gaddafi government was still in power.