Besides the 40 countries, the International Contact Group also comprises United Nations, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Arab League and African Union representatives. The meeting is a follow up to earlier sessions in Doha, Rome and Abu Dhabi.

There is alarm in the Western world at the current stalemate in Libya. When a UN resolution authorized countries “to take all necessary measures” to help protect Libyan civilians from attacks by Qaddafi forces on March 19, it was believed that Qaddafi would be removed in a matter of days. Four months later and after heavy aerial bombardment Qaddafi continues to remain well entrenched in the Libyan capital Tripoli.

The opposition National Transitional Council, which is based in Benghazi, has won recognition from many states, but its fighters have been unable to dislodge Qaddafi.

Reports appearing Thursday in Turkish newspapers suggest that Qaddafi is facing dramatic shortages of fuel for his soldiers and citizens in Tripoli, and he is running out of cash to pay his forces and what is left of his government.

The reports, quoting unnamed US officials, attribute the cash crunch in part to Turkey’s decision to seize hundreds of millions of dollars in the Arab Turkish Bank.

This has led Hillary Clinton to proclaim that Qaddafi’s days are numbered.

“Neither of us can predict to you the exact day or hour that Qaddafi will leave power; we do understand and agree that his days are numbered,” Clinton said while addressing a joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Wednesday in Washington. “We will continue to work closely with our international partners, including Russia, to increase the pressure on him and his regime, and we will keep looking for a way to achieve a cease-fire, end the military action and give the Libyan people a chance to plot their own way forward.”

Russia, however, declined Turkey’s invitation to attend the Istanbul meeting.

“The Russian approach to the issue remains unchanged ... We are not joining the (Istanbul) group and are not participating in its activity,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich told Turkey’s Anatolian news agency.

Lukashevich lamented that the main efforts used by the International Contact Group “are directed toward the support of one of the sides in the continuing civil conflict in Libya,” adding that the UN Security Council has already made well-known decisions on Libya and “it should continue to fully play its central role in settling the Libyan crisis.”

Experts believe the most important discussion at the Istanbul meeting will be on chalking out a common stance on how best to assist the National Transitional Council with funding.

Huseyin Bagci at the Middle East Technical University told Chinese news agency Xinhua that “Turkey will look to use this meeting to play the role of mediator and get widespread recognition for the Libyan opposition.”

Although Turkey played a supporting role in NATO’s military campaign right from the start, Ankara maintained diplomatic representation in Tripoli until last week.

Last week saw a dramatic visit by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi and the end of its representation in Tripoli. Turkey has since then taken a very hard line against Qaddafi.

The Istanbul meeting will look at how to best utilize the frozen Libyan assets to help the rebels while remaining within the UN mandate

“The most important item on the agenda most likely will be to develop a common stance to help the Libyan rebels financially, militarily and otherwise,” analyst Mesut Ozcan told Xinhua.

“Today the priority is to push for apolitical solution that may prepare the ground to a valid alternative to Gaddafi,” said Gabriele Iacovino of Rome’s International Studies Center. “The military stalemate can be solely compensated by an increase in diplomatic pressure. It has been now roughly four months since the start of the military operations in Libya, and I doubt that a solution will be found in the near future.”