OWN CORRESPONDENT, United Nations | Friday 7.30pm.
THE United States announced Thursday that it would soon hold its first official talks with Libya since breaking off diplomatic relations in 1981.
State Department spokesman James Rubin stressed to reporters in Washington that the meeting at ambassador level would not be bilateral, but would also involve the British ambassador and UN chief Kofi Annan.
Britain’s ambassador to the United Nations, Sir Jeremy Greenstock meanwhile revealed in New York that he has held regular bilateral contacts since August last year with Libyan Ambassador Omar Dorda.
“I’ve been seeing Dorda constantly. It’s no big deal for me,” said Greenstock, who explained that his talks had dealt with “clarifications” requested by Libya before the handover of two suspects wanted for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.
Britain broke off diplomatic relations with Libya in 1984 but has agreed to restore consular relations following Monday’s handover of the two suspects wanted for the bombing of a Pan Am airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland that killed 270 people.
The Boston Globe reported on Thursday that the US administration secretly approached Libya through Annan to request the face-to-face talks.
US Ambassador Peter Burleigh did not deny that Washington took the initiative, saying “I don’t recall who asked whom, at this point.”
The talks are to be held in the context of a 90-day report that Annan is due to provide to the UN Security Council to enable the full lifting of UN sanctions against Libya, which were suspended Monday following the suspects’ surrender.
The two suspected former intelligence agents are to be tried by a Scottish court in the Netherlands.
Annan “specifically indicated he would like to meet with the US and the UK in the future, and we would have no objection with Libya being present at that meeting,” Rubin said.
But this “is not an indication that we are prepared to meet with them bilaterally unless and until they have moved down the road towards complying with the requirements of the UN Security Council,” he added. — AFP