William Burns, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for the Middle East, met Wednesday in Tripoli with Libyan Foreign Minister Abdelrahman Shalgham to discuss the aftermath of Iraq's January 30 elections and broader regional developments.
Shalgham expressed hope that the Iraqi elections would advance the country's return to full sovereignty and lead to the eventual departure of multinational forces. The two sides also addressed the state of U.S.-Libya relations, which have been warming since late 2003.
Burns praised Libya for its contributions to peace efforts in Africa. Shalgham said Washington planned to soon ease movement restrictions on Libyan diplomats stationed in the United States.
The visit was Burns's second to Tripoli. He first traveled there in June 2004 to open a U.S. liaison office, 24 years after the two countries severed diplomatic relations. A full embassy has not yet been reestablished.
The normalization process accelerated after Libyan leader Muammar Kadhafi pledged in December 2003 to abandon weapons of mass destruction. In September 2004, President George W. Bush lifted most economic sanctions that had been in place since 1986.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in February 2005, in its own words.