CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Libyan and Arab League officials discussed ways Sunday to persuade the United Nations to lift sanctions imposed on Libya after the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
The sanctions were intended to force Libya to hand over for trial two Libyans suspected in the attack over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people.
Egypt’s Middle East News Agency quoted Libyan Foreign Minister Omar al-Muntasser as saying that he and Arab League Secretary General Esmet Abdel-Meguid were coordinating efforts in the U.N. Security Council to seek an end to the sanctions and an air embargo.
Al-Muntasser did not elaborate but said he would also seek support from the Organization of African Unity and the Islamic Organization Conference. The news report gave no other details.
The World Court, the U.N.’s highest judicial body, ruled Friday that it had jurisdiction to settle Libya’s dispute with the United States and Britain over whether Libya must extradite the suspects.
Libya argues that the suspects will not receive a fair trial in America or Britain and has offered to hand over the suspects to a neutral country or to the World Court, based in The Hague, Netherlands.