afrol News, 28 June - During a visit to Libya by a high US official, the first official US representation in Tripoli for decades has been inaugurated. Further, the spectre of bilateral cooperation between the two ex-foes has been widened and cooperation on Sudan and education is agreed upon.

The Assistant US Secretary of State, William Burns, today met with Libyan leader Muammar Ghaddafi in Tripoli. Mr Burns was accompanied by Ambassador Cofer Black, the US government's Coordinator for Counter-terrorism.

Mr Burns has led the normalisation negotiations with Libya and had an ongoing series of meetings with senior Libyan officials. Today's meeting was the latest in that series and the subject of their conversation was the ongoing dialogue on political and economic relations, according to the US State Department.

Colonel Ghaddafi and Ambassador Black discussed were reported to have discussed "outstanding concerns over Libya's past support for terrorism and [the US] engagement with Libya on its support for the global war on terrorism," according to Adam Ereli, Deputy Spokesman of the US State Department.

After the successful Tripoli meetings, Mr Burns issued a statement, in which he formally inaugurated the new US Liaison Office in Tripoli and the resumption of direct diplomatic ties between the two countries. Thus, US-Libyan relations formally have been normalised.

The plans for an establishment of a formal US representation in Libya were well advanced but controversial before today's Tripoli meetings. Both Mr Burns and press spokesman Ereli had to answer tough questions on why the Libyan leadership had not been pressured even more on recent disagreements.

An alleged "Libyan plot to kill Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah," as presented in a recent US intelligence report, had somewhat soured relations between Tripoli and Washington despite attempts to reach a total normalisation. The Saudi Arabian regime places great credibility into the alleged Libyan plot and US authorities are taking the allegations seriously.

According to spokesman Ereli, the alleged Libyan plot against the Saudi prince "did come up" during the talks between Colonel Ghaddafi and Mr Burns. "The reports are a matter of concern to us. The possibility that there is that degree of connivance with terrorists is of concern, and I think that is the message that is being delivered," Mr Ereli added.

Also the US Assistant Secretary of State, Mr Burns, assured journalists in Tripoli that the alleged Libyan plot had been raised with Colonel Ghaddafi. The State Department had "immediately raised" its concerns "directly with the Libyan leadership, which assured us it would not support the use of violence for settling political differences with any state," said Mr Burns, adding that Mr Ghaddafi at the meeting had "repudiated the use of violence for political purposes."

Nevertheless, past disagreements did not seem to have dominated talks. Apart from accelerating the ongoing normalisation process between the two countries, the Tripoli-Washington cooperation was deepened with two more issues today. This included a new cooperation on resolving the Sudan crisis and cooperation on education.

US National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice already this weekend announced that her government was seeking a third route for aid into Sudan's Darfur region through Libya. Libya and Sudan share some 350 kilometres of common border in the middle of the host hostile and non-communicated part of the Sahara desert.

Nevertheless, Mr Ereli said, Libyan and US authorities were now considering "a land route through Libya for the delivery of humanitarian supplies" to Darfur. The populated parts of Darfur are some 750 kilometres of desert sand south of the Libyan border, but Mr Ereli nevertheless thought it possible to find "logistical arrangements for delivering aid through that route."

While Mr Burns and Ambassador Black were meeting with Colonel Ghaddafi in Tripoli, senior Libyan education representatives arrived in Washington today. During a three-week roundtrip in the US, they will meet government officials and representatives of US universities and international exchange organisations.

The Libyans' visit is part of the process of re-establishing educational ties between Libya and the United States. In near future, this will lead to exchange opportunities for students between the two countries. "The return of Libyan students to the US for study in community colleges, colleges and universities is an important step toward the normalisation of ties between the two countries," the US government said in a statement.

By staff writers

© afrol News

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