Senior Libyan rebel Mahmud Jibril will hold his first talks at the White House on Friday, May 13, but his bid for Washington to recognize his movement as the country's rightful rulers looks set to be denied.
According to the AFP, Jibril also warned ahead of talks with National Security Advisor Tom Donilon that the opposition-led National Transitional Council (NTC) was running short of money and was in desperate need of help in its fight with Moammar Gadhafi.
U.S. officials would not say whether President Barack Obama would drop by Jibril's meeting with Donilon, a practice sometimes used by the White House for guests for whom protocol does not dictate an official meeting.
Asked by CNN television what he expected from Friday's talks with the US administration, Jibril replied: "We need the recognition."
The Libyan opposition, based in the eastern city of Benghazi, wanted Washington to recognize the body as "the sole legitimate interlocutor of the Libyan people," he added.
