The California congressman expressed the bipartisan position in Washington toward the concessions made by the Libyan government in disarming its defensive weapons systems and on other fronts.

In return for Libya’s compliance with U.S. demands, the Bush administration lifted most of the restrictions on U.S. investment in Libya and announced that it would set up a Liaison Office in Tripoli—a step toward reestablishing diplomatic relations.

Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi was also invited to Brussels April 26-27 as a guest of European Commission president Romano Prodi, one month after a visit to the capital, Tripoli, by British prime minister Anthony Blair. The Belgian visit was Qaddafi’s first trip to Europe in 15 years.

Major European and U.S. companies, especially those involved in the oil trade, are now gearing up for a race to get their hands on Libya’s potentially lucrative oil reserves.

However, Libya remains on the State Department’s list of state “Sponsors of Terrorism,” which means that Washington continues to maintain restrictions on Libyan exports, hold frozen Libyan assets in U.S. banks, and ban direct flights.

A U.S. official said April 29 that before removing it from the list, U.S. government representatives would meet with the Libyan government to gain assurances that it “has given up terrorism,” reported Reuters. The State Department announced that Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria will remain on the list.

The United Nations Security Council lifted UN sanctions on trade with Libya in parts and technology for aviation, arms, and oil exploitation after the Libyan government acknowledged responsibility for the blowing up of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, which killed 270, and agreed to pay victims’ families $4 million each. Libya has agreed to pay an additional $6 million to each family if Washington lifts the remaining sanctions by the end of July.

According to the New York Times, U.S. president Bush said April 23 that Libya must commit itself to “a complete renunciation of all ties to terrorism” before the sanctions are erased.

Tripoli’s concession related to Lockerbie, Bush said, do “not prejudge the removal of Libya from the terrorism list or detract from Libya’s obligations to fulfill its continuing Pan Am 103 commitments.”

In the December announcement on Libya’s weapons programs, Qadaffi gave the go-ahead for officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency to carry out surprise inspections of its one chemical weapons factory and other sites of the UN body’s choosing.

In an official statement at that time, Tripoli “confirm[ed] that we will abide by the [Nuclear] Non-Proliferation Treaty…by taking this initiative, it wants all countries to follow its steps, starting with the Middle East, without any exception or double standards.”

Washington is using Libya’s example of capitulation to pressure other countries, such as north Korea, Iran, and Syria, to take similar measures. Lantos said he hoped that “rogue states such as Syria and Iran will learn the lesson: responsible behavior means much better relations with the U.S.”  
 
Concessions on weapons programs
In February the Libyan government signed the Chemical Weapons Convention. Following the timetable in the treaty, Libya agreed to destroy all such weapons by April 2007.

In March, Libya handed over boxes of files on its chemical weapons research to officials of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. In the preceding months, under the gaze of UN inspectors, Libya destroyed 3,500 bombs and pledged not to develop missiles with a range beyond 190 miles.

According to a report in December by the BBC, “U.S. officials said Libya had also acknowledged cooperating with North Korea to develop extended-range Scud missiles.”

The relaxation of sanctions means that for the first time since 1986 U.S. oil companies will be free to do business in Libya. Spokesmen for the Oasis Group, a consortium made up of Marathon, ConocoPhillips, and Amerada Hess, announced that it plans to resume operating the group’s 41 percent stake in Libya’s giant Waha oil concession. Waha currently produces about 300,000 barrels a day, about 20 percent of national production.

Another company, Occidental, plans to reap high returns by resuming its oil and natural gas operations there. “Our goal is to [ensure] returns on capital at least as good as the average return from our current mix of oil and gas assets,” said chairman and chief executive Ray Irani.

European oil companies are also anxious to stake claims alongside their U.S. rivals. Following Blair’s visit in March, Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell signed a deal worth up to $975 million for gas exploration off the Libyan coast.

Another British firm, defense and aerospace contractor BAE Systems, is currently negotiating aviation projects.

Other European leaders, including Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, have also paid visits to Tripoli. As Libya’s former colonial master, Italy has remained Libya’s number one trading partner, accounting for 43 percent of its exports and 26 percent of imports.

Libyan oil minister Fathi bin Shatwan said April 21 that Libya is seeking $30 billion in foreign investment to develop its energy infrastructure and increase oil output.

French cable manufacturer Nexans SA announced a week later that it had received a $120 million contract to provide high-voltage underground power links.

During Qaddafi’s Brussels visit, Prodi encouraged him to sign the Barcelona Declaration, joining other countries in the “Euro-Mediterranean Partnership” in working to set up a so-called free trade zone across North Africa by 2010.

By signing, North African and Mediterranean countries agree to eliminate trade protections against goods from European Union member states.

Signatories so far are Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Cyprus and Malta.  
 
 
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