Moscow, Jul 6 (IANS/AKI): Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has said he would step down if his security is guaranteed, according to a Russian official.

"The colonel (Gaddafi) is sending signals that he is prepared to relinquish power in exchange for security guarantees," the unnamed Russian official told the Kommersant daily.

The Russian newspaper described him as a high-level source in the Russian leadership.

France was willing to provide these guarantees, the official said.

Gaddafi wants his son Saif al-Islam to be allowed to run in elections if he steps down, the Kommersant said.

The Libyan government has said it was in talks with opposition leaders, but the rebels continue to demand that Gaddafi stand down and leave Libya.

The Interfax news agency quoted Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, head of the world chess federation FIDE, as saying that Gaddafi's oldest son Muhammad Gaddafi told him that Western forces were stationed in the capital Tripoli to kill the Libyan leader.