German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has arrived in the Libyan rebel-held city of Benghazi following a stopover in Malta, official sources in Valletta told the German Press Agency dpa.
Germany last week said it was opening a liaison office in Benghazi as Berlin wants to broaden its ties with members of the Libyan opposition who are seeking to topple Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi.
Germany abstained in a UN Security Council vote for the use of military force to protect civilians in Libya.
Westerwelle, who was accompanied by senior German government officials, arrived on an official German C-130 aircraft and transferred to a military transport airplane in Malta, the same sources said.
The German Minister is expected to return to Malta late Monday.