British Prime Minister Tony Blair will hold talks this week in Libya with Muammar Gadhafi, British officials said on Wednesday, marking improved relations as Libya scraps its banned weapons programs. Blair's visit is a significant step in reinstating Libya in the world community after its pledge in December to dismantle its nuclear, chemical and biological programs. "We will be using the visit to continue the process of bringing Libya into the international mainstream, and to make clear that we will be trying to get Libya's relationship with the European Union developed in the months ahead," a senior official accompanying Blair said Wednesday on condition of anonymity. "It was part of our agreement with Libya that we and the United States would act quickly to bring them back and show them the rewards of cooperation with the international institutions," the official added.
Britain has a long history of grievances with Gadhafi, who supplied shiploads of weapons to the Irish Republican Army in the 1980s. Britain broke off diplomatic relations with Libya in 1984, after British policewoman Yvonne Fletcher was killed by a shot fired from a window of the Libyan embassy, or "people's bureau," in London, and relations hit bottom after Libya was implicated in the bombing of a Pam Am jetliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people, in 1988. Britain restored diplomatic relations with Libya in 1999, and Britain has taken a lead diplomatic lead in ending Libya's isolation. The British official, who briefed reporters in Madrid, said "a number of British companies stand to gain from a more normal relationship." He said Shell may soon sign a heads of agreement on gas exploration rights off the Libyan coast in the days ahead, and British Aerospace was negotiating about providing civil aviation facilities for Libya. Asked if Britain would push for an end of the EU arms embargo against Libya, he said, "I think it will mean that in time."
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