Embassy: US may lift travel ban on Libya

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, February 07, 2004

Embassy: US may lift travel ban on Libya

The US Embassy in London said Friday that Washington might soon lift its travel ban and some of the US economic sanctions on Libya if it continues to make progress on its weapons commitments.

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The US Embassy in London said Friday that Washington might soon lift its travel ban and some of the US economic sanctions on Libya if it continues to make progress on its weapons commitments.

Following tripartite talks here between US, Libyan and British officials reportedly on the process of scraping Libya's banned weapons, the embassy issued a statement saying the United States could "in the near term" allow US citizens to visit Libya using American passports and to spend money there if Tripoli continues to make progress on its commitments to dismantling its banned weapons program.

"To support this range of activities, as well as continued US assistance to Libya in dismantling its WMD (weapons of mass destruction) ... programs, the two delegations also discussed the possibility of assigning a small number of personnel to each other's capitals given the absence of functioning embassies," the statement said.

"Progress on these crucial matters has opened the door to better relations with the United States," the embassy said. However, it said no agreements had been reached in either area.

According to the statement, US Assistant Secretary of State William Burns, who led the US delegation to the meeting described by the embassy as "very positive and thorough," told Libyan officials that Washington would continue to help Libya dismantle its weapons programs and to keep its UN commitments on the Pan Am attack.

During the talks, the United States also said it could help Libya modernize its economy and address its most urgent humanitarian needs, the embassy said.

"While these are positive developments, the two sides acknowledged that there remain many issues that must be addressed if a more normal relationship is to be re-established," the embassy said, stressing that both the United States and Libya had agreed to continue their discussions.

British Foreign Office declined to comment on the Friday meeting, but British Prime Minister Tony Blair's official spokesman earlier told reporters that the British Government and the US Administration had worked extremely closely on the issue ofLibya's process of disarmament through a very large part of last year.

"As we moved on to a different stage, that work and level of cooperation would continue," the spokesman said.

At the invitation of the British government, Libyan Secretary of the General People's Committee for Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation Abdul Rahman Mohammed Shalgam is expected to hold talks including Libya's commitment to scrap its banned weapons with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw on next Tuesday.

Shalgam would also meet with Blair during his landmark visit toLondon, which was described by the Foreign Office as a milestone in the move to end Libya's pariah status.

Last December, after nearly a year of secret talks with the United States and Britain, Libya announced its decision to dismantle all its WMDs and quit programs for developing chemical and nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.

The decision followed the United Nations Security Council's lifting of UN sanctions against Libya last September after Libya agreed to pay 2.7 billion US dollars in compensation to families of the Lockerbie bombing victims and accept responsibility for thebombing.

Many countries have welcomed Libya's decision and US President George W. Bush pledged to reward Libya's steps toward disarmament,including possibly easing or lifting US sanctions against the country and restoring diplomatic relations.

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