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Sarko Cuts Nuke Deal With Gaddafi

French prez seeks to bolster ties with erstwhile pariah

By Jonas Oransky,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 26, 2007 12:06 PM CDT

(Newser) – French president Nicolas Sarkozy met with reformed outcast Muammar al-Gaddafi today, just one day after Libya released five Bulgarian nurses and one doctor in an effort to shed the country's rogue image. Sarkozy clinched a number of ventures  with the newly open economy, including a deal to build a nuclear plant on Libyan soil, Der Spiegel reports.

Anti-nuclear groups chastened Sarkozy for his haste to supply the dictator with technology that could eventually prove lethal. Gaddafi promises he's mended his ways, though, and even Condoleezza Rice proposed a visit soon. “I know that American companies are very interested in working in Libya," she said.

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, left, shakes hands with  French President Nicolas Sarkozy as they visit the bombed house by American airplanes in 1986 at the Bab Azizia Palace in Tripoli Wednesday, July 25, 2007.  Sarkozy is calling his visit to Tripoli a bid to bring the country long considered a...
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, left, shakes hands with French President Nicolas Sarkozy as they visit the bombed house by American airplanes in 1986 at the Bab Azizia Palace in Tripoli Wednesday, July...   (Associated Press)
gaddafi
gaddafi   ((c) openDemocracy)
Tony Blair Embarks On Tour Of Africa
Tony Blair Embarks On Tour Of Africa   (Getty Images)
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, left, welcomes French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Bab Azizia Palace in Tripoli Wednesday, July 25, 2007.  Sarkozy promised to boost relations with long-isolated Libya as he met with the oil-rich country's leader Moammar Gadhafi on Wednesday as a reward for the release of five Bulgarian...
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, left, welcomes French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Bab Azizia Palace in Tripoli Wednesday, July 25, 2007. Sarkozy promised to boost relations with long-isolated Libya...   (Associated Press)
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