U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets the Libyan leader on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

Speaking in New York, Mohammed Magarief used the opportunity to apologise for the attack which killed four Americans in Benghazi.

Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others died when gunmen assaulted the U.S consulate earlier this month.

SOUNDBITE: HEAD OF THE LIBYAN NATIONAL CONGRESS MOHAMMED MAGARIEF, SAYING (Arabic):

"Madame Secretary, I also will seize this opportunity to reaffirm that what happened on 11th of September towards these U.S. citizens does not express in any way the conscience of the Libyan people, their aspirations, their hopes or their sentiments towards the American people."

Clinton paid tribute to the ambassador, saying the Libyan people had lost a "true friend".

SOUNDBITE: U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON, SAYING (English):

"Through everything, the president and the Libyan government have been staunch partners to the United States. I want to thank them in person, as we already have through communications and through your ambassador, for the important efforts that they are taking to help find and bring to justice all those responsible for the attacks."

The U.S. and Libya are both investigating the incident, which they've said will not derail relations.