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US delays lifting sanctions on Libya
The United States said Friday it would not be hurried into lifting sanctions on Libya despite a reminder from the country's prime minister that millions of dollars in compensation for families of the victims of the Lockerbie bombing are at stake. The State Department said US sanctions on Libya would not be lifted until Tripoli meets the requirements for their removal and not before. "As far as the subject of lifting sanctions goes, our focus is on Libyan actions and Libyan performance," deputy spokesman Adam Ereli told reporters. "We've made it clear that as Libya moves forward in fulfilling its commitments to divorce itself from any connection to terrorism and to abjure and dismantle its WMD programs, we would be willing to discuss bilateral relations," he said. "But it hasn't gotten beyond that at this point," Ereli said.
"In other words, don't rush us."
The comments came in response to questions about remarks by Libyan Prime Minister Shukri Ghanim in an interview with the New York Times in which he recalled the terms of a compensation agreement with the Lockerbie victims' families. Ghanim told the paper that a decision on the sanctions was an "internal matter" for the United States, but that it should be aware of deadlines and their consequences.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2004-01-03
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=23726