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Libya Condemns US Congress' Approval of Sanctions Extension
A senior Libyan official on Saturday condemned as "distressing and surprising" the US Congress' approval of a five-year extension of the 1996 Iran-Libya Sanctions Act.
Hassona Shawsh, assistant secretary of Foreign Communication and International Cooperation of Libya's General People's Committee, was quoted by the official Libyan News Agency as saying in Tripoli that the act is completely "rejectable" in form and content as it can not be imposed on other countries.
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday voted for a five- year extension of the act, due to expire on August 5. The U.S. Senate adopted the same decision late Wednesday.
Shawsh said the decision was based on illusions spread by Zionist propaganda organizations and nourished by Zionist lobbies in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives to serve goals which have nothing to do with U.S. interests and its relations with the world.
He reaffirmed that relations among countries and peoples worldwide can not be run by such old-fashioned methods inherited from the Cold War, or through hatred and grudge practices fostered by the Zionism against Arabs, Muslims, Africans and other peoples.
The Libyan official hoped that the U.S. administration would take into consideration its real interests, and balance and equalize international relations through dialogue, understanding, mutual benefits and human development.
Although the U.S. Congress has approved a five-year extension of the act, it is yet to be submitted to President George W. Bush for approval before it becomes a law.
The Bush administration is in favor of a two-year extension of the act, which bans foreign enterprises from investing more than 20 million U.S. dollars a year in either Iran's or Libya's energy sector.
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