Greece's foreign ministry says a Libyan envoy will hold talks in Athens Thursday with Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Dollis.

A ministry statement says Mohamed Tahir Siala's visit was arranged in agreement with European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. It comes ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Thursday to discuss the situation in Libya, the statement said.

Wednesday's statement said there would be no statements to the press after the meeting. It provided no further detail.

Greece has traditionally good ties with Libya and its leader Moammar Gadhafi. The southern island of Crete has served as an evacuation hub for thousands of foreign workers - mostly Chinese - ferried out Libya over the past few days.