Lockerbie deal 'on the brink'
2003-08-13 08:20
Washington - The United States, Britain and Libya have agreed on terms for a deal under which Tripoli will accept responsibility for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, said informed diplomatic sources.
One source said: "My understanding is that the terms are settled and all that's left are practical steps to bring it to a close."
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said an announcement of the deal - which would lead to the lifting of United Nations and possibly United States sanctions against Libya - would come this week at the United Nations.
However, they emphasised the UN sanctions would not be lifted unless Libya actually followed through on a stated commitment to accept responsibility for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
The sources said Libya had agreed to send a letter to the UN security council admitting it was behind the attack on the Boeing 747 that blew up over the Scottish town of Lockerbie on December 21 1988, killing all 259 people on board plus 11 on the ground.
People confident deal will survive
The sources admitted previous hopes for a deal - in which Libya would take the blame and pay compensation to the families of the 270 victims of the bombing - had fallen through, but said there was now high confidence the settlement would stick.
"People are feeling pretty good about this," said a second source.
The US assistant secretary of state for near-eastern affairs, William Burns, who is in the Middle East, was to return on Wednesday to Washington to brief the families of the victims and the US congress on the agreement with Libya.
A US official confirmed that Burns was returning from the Middle East.
The official would not comment on any meetings he might be planning, but the sources said the briefings were expected by the end of this week.
No public announcement of the deal is expected until after the families have been notified, the sources said.
Logistics are now set - source
The sources said the last hurdles to the deal appeared to have been resolved at a working-level meeting of US, British and Libyan diplomats on Monday in London.
"They were discussing logistics and those are now set," said one source.
The state department declined to comment on whether an agreement had been reached, but spokesperson Philip Reeker repeated optimistic comments secretary of state Colin Powell had made after the London meeting.
Reeker said: "As the secretary said yesterday, we think we're getting closer to a settlement.
"We're pleased with the progress that's been made."
The British foreign office declined to give details of the London talks, but said they were "constructive."
The new developments follow days of persistant signals that a deal is at hand.
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has told various US media outlets that he believes the Lockerbie case is "about to be closed" and the lawyers for the victims' relatives have told their clients an agreement is near.
Libya's acceptance of responsibility for the bombing would follow immediately the signing of a $2.7bn-dollar (about R20bn) settlement deal with the families of the 270 victims, according to lawyers negotiating the deal.
Those lawyers and Libyan representatives have been meeting in the past week to finalise the setup of an account at Switzerland's Bank of International Settlements.
As the deal is envisaged, Libya would pay each of the families of the victims $10m (about R74m) in instalments based on the lifting of the sanctions and the removal of Libya from the US list of "state sponsors of terrorism".
- AFP