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US Envoy Visits Libya; Rice May Be Next

Rice would be first secretary of state to visit since 1953

By Heather McPherson,  Newser User

Posted Aug 22, 2007 9:36 AM CDT
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(Newser) – A leading State Department official has arrived in Libya, laying the groundwork for a probable visit by Condoleezza Rice later in the year. The envoy, David Welch, will discuss improvements to US-Libyan relations and compensation for victims of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, the BBC reports. Since 2003, when the Gaddafi regime accepted responsibility for the Pan Am attack, relations with Tripoli have steadily improved.

Rice has said she would consider a visit once the Libyans released the Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian medic who were held for eight years for allegedly infecting children with HIV. The Libyan foreign ministry hopes Rice will come to Tripoli as soon as next month; she would be the first US secretary of state to visit Libya since 1953.

ard for the release of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor. In the background is the house bombed by American planes in 1986, where Gadhafi's daughter died. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
ard for the release of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor. In the background is the house bombed by American planes in 1986, where Gadhafi's daughter died. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)   (Associated Press)
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, right, 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, right, 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)
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, right, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, unseen, stand during the singing of National anthems 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...
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, right, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, unseen, stand during the singing of National anthems at the Bab Azizia Palace in Tripoli Wednesday, July 25, 2007. Sarkozy promised...   (Associated Press)
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Libyan online resources
Univ. of Pennsylvania

 
Condoleezza Rice • State Department • Libya • Tripoli • Moammar Gadhafi • David Welch • Lockerbie

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