A Libyan opposition leader is coming to Washington later this week, allowing U.S. officials to get "a better sense" of the opposition, U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said on Wednesday, Xinhua reported.
Toner told reporters at the department that Mahmoud Jibril, who handles foreign policy for the Libyan opposition's Interim Transitional National Council, will meet with various members of Congress, Department of Defense officials and Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg.
"These meetings will allow us to continue to get a better sense of opposition and the Transitional National Council and its vision of Libya," Toner said.
U.S. officials have been wary of the composition and goals of the Libyan opposition, and remain undecided on whether to provide them arms or not.
U.S. envoy Chris Stevens is still in the opposition's stronghold of Benghazi in eastern Libya to get a "firsthand" assessment of the opposition, Toner said, adding that "we're also trying to take an approach that allows us to understand both their needs as well as who they are."