Tripoli, June 13 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Defiant Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi says he has no intention of leaving the country, an official said.

Gaddafi said this to the president of the world chess federation (FIDE), Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who paid a visit to Libya Sunday as part of FIDE's "Year of Africa" programme to promote the game of chess in African countries.

"Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said he was not going anywhere despite strong pressure," the unnamed Russian official said.

During the meeting in Tripoli, Ilyumzhinov presented Gaddafi with a chess set crafted by Russian artisans.

"They (Ilyumzhinov and Gaddafi) got acquainted in 2004 during the world chess championship in Tripoli, and they are on good terms with one another," the official said.

Libyan state television later broadcast a video of the meeting.

Gaddafi, who has ruled the oil-rich country for over 40 years, has vowed not to surrender despite deadly NATO air raids in Tripoli and other military targets.