The head of the Russian contact group to resolve the Libyan crisis, Lev Dengov, confirmed the existence of contacts between Russia and Saif Al-Islam Muammar Gaddafi.

"This Libyan figure (Saif al-Islam) has considerable political weight in his country, so he will be among the parties involved in the Libyan political process," Dengov told Russian news agency Sputnik.

"Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi today contacts us regularly as a participant in the Libyan settlement process."

"Saif Al-Islam is very positive and we can say that he will be one of the parties involved in the political process, for the simple reason that there is a certain group of people who support everything related to Gaddafi and his family," he said.

"Saif Al-Islam is very optimistic, he has a team that supports him, but we should not forget that there are sanctions against him and until these sanctions are lifted, I do not think his participation will be legitimate, because the elections will be held under the auspices of the United Nations," Dengov added.

Lev Dengov said Gaddafi "will need to nominate a candidate who represents him and represents the interests of the tribes, including the Gaddfi tribe."

Concluding: "Russia will not support anyone who is not supported by the Libyan people."