US to meet Libya over sanctions

US officials are to meet Libyan representatives next week to outline the steps the country must take to enable sanctions to be lifted.

US officials are to meet Libyan representatives next week to outline the steps the country must take to enable sanctions to be lifted.

The move comes as Libya accepted the Scottish court's verdicts on the Lockerbie bombing.

Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi was found guilty of the murders of 270 people. His co-accused Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah was cleared.

Libya insists it had nothing to do with the blast but said it would agree to any compensation ordered by civil courts and looked forward to new relations with the US.

Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi is desperate to get rid of all UN sanctions - something that will only happen when he compensates the victims' families.

Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Hassounah el-Shawish said that the verdicts are not a matter of victory or defeat .

Libya, he added, looks forward to "new and special relations" with the US, which has led efforts to isolate the North African nation.

No immediate action is expected in the UN Security Council to lift sanctions against Libya.

Sanctions, which include an air and arms embargo, were suspended in April 1999 after Libya delivered the two suspects for trial.

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