US President George W. Bush has decided to lift sanctions against Libya, which he expects to trigger release of more than US$1 billion to families of Pan Am Flight 103 victims, a senior administration official said.
Bush has decided to end two sets of sanctions. The step would mark the latest reward from the US for Libya's agreement last year to dismantle chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs.
High-level discussions on the final phase of Libya's disarmament pledges were held Friday in London and termed "productive."
"This victory is thanks to more than two decades of tough multilateral sanctions and firm diplomacy sustained through Democratic and Republican administrations," said Representative Tom Lantos, the ranking Democrat on the House International Relations Committee.
Lantos said that during his two visits to Libya this year, "it became clear to me that this decision is irreversible, and that the Libyan leadership has made a firm commitment to building new bridges to the United States and other civilized nations."
The administration says Libya is to pay the new compensation after Bush agrees to lift both sanctions on air travel and a freeze on US$1 billion in assets that belong to Libya or in which Libya has an interest.
Libya had insisted on a lifting of those sanctions as the price for next compensation payment to families of the victims of Flight 103. The payment would come to US$4 million per family.
In the 1988 bombing, 259 people were killed on the plane, including 189 Americans, as well as 11 people in Lockerbie, the Scottish village on which parts of the Boeing 747 rained down. Libya has admitted responsibility for the downing of the Boeing 747.
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