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US to begin political dialogue with Libya, says spokesman

PLA Daily 2004-02-04

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- The State Department said Tuesday that officials from the United States, Britain and Libya will meet in London on Friday to begin a political dialogue about the future relationship.

"This is the result of positive steps that Libya has been taking to eliminate all elements of its weapons of mass destruction programs and controlled classes of missiles," spokesman Richard Boucher said at a regular news briefing.

He said US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs William Burns will be traveling to London for the meetings.

Boucher noted that the Libyan government has taken several positive steps in recent weeks to reinforce its commitments to the abandonment of weapons of mass destruction, including the transferof many thousands of pounds of sensitive materials related to Libya's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile capabilities to the United States.

"It's appropriate to have a political dialogue on what lies ahead. The situation with Libya has fundamentally changed," he said.

"Libya's recent actions open the door to the possibility of better relations between the United States and Libya," the spokesman said, "As the Libyan government takes these essential steps and demonstrates its seriousness, good faith will be returned."

Boucher said that as Libya moves forward, the United States is prepared to have flexibility and move forward on some of the issues that Libya might be concerned about.