Libya may compromise with Swiss
2010-02-17 20:04
Rome - Geneva and Tripoli have indicated they are ready to compromise in a dispute that has barred Libyans from travelling to Switzerland and citizens from 25 European nations from visiting Libya, an Italian official said on Wednesday.
Italy - with large oil, gas and other business interests in Libya - wants to end the travel obstacles, which kept some Italian businessmen waiting for hours at Tripoli airport this week or forced them to fly back to Italy.
Italian Foreign Minister Frattini met in Rome on Wednesday with foreign ministers from Libya and Malta, another European Union (EU) nation with well-established trade with Tripoli.
"The Libyans have consulted with us and they are willing to reach a deal quickly with Switzerland," if the Swiss "cancel the [travel] black list" of 186 names, including Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Frattini told Italian TV.
He said he also spoke by phone with Swiss leaders, who are "willing to negotiate, if Libya immediately releases" the two Swiss citizens detained there since 2008.
'Easy entrance'
Meanwhile, Tripoli has pledged to allow easy entrance to Italian and Maltese travellers, the Italian foreign minister said.
"I believe the Libyans understand they need to be flexible," Frattini said.
The dispute began two years ago when Switzerland arrested Gaddafi's son on suspicion of beating his servants.
Last year, Gaddafi forced Swiss Finance Minister and then-President Hans-Rudolf Merz to apologise in Libya and agree to possible compensation claims.
Libya pulled most of its money out of Swiss vaults. And Libyan authorities continue to detain the two Swiss citizens on charges that Amnesty International and the UN have criticised as a form of political revenge.
In response, Switzerland suspended a deal aimed at improving bilateral relations and initiated a visa blacklist that included Gaddafi and his family.
That has drawn the rest of Europe into the dispute because a travel ban from one member of the continent's passport-free Schengen agreement is binding on all. Libyan visas from Schengen countries are no longer being treated as valid, European governments said.
The Italian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that efforts to ease the dispute would continue on Thursday, when Libyan's foreign minister meets with officials of Spain, which now holds the EU presidency, followed by an EU-wide meeting on Monday.
- AP