Settlement on Lockerbie 'getting closer'

Talks between British, American and Libyan officials about the Lockerbie bombing are making progress, with negotiators from the North African country reportedly “closer” to accepting responsibility for the 1988 attack.

“I think that we are getting closer to a settlement,” US Secretary of State Colin Powell said in Washington yesterday.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office in London said that while no announcement was expected soon, and no further meetings were planned at this stage, British officials “hope the issue will be resolved soon”.

An American relative of one of the 270 people killed said he understood an agreement had been reached on compensation and a statement of responsibility and that action would be taken within a week.

There have been a series of private trilateral meetings about the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 during the last few years.

Officials were pleased with the progress made yesterday, and the Foreign Office spokeswoman called the meeting “a constructive session”.

Those attending the working level meeting discussed the Lockerbie bombing issue “and outstanding UN Security Council requirements,” she said.

The requirements are that Libya accept responsibility for the bombing of the airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, and pay appropriate compensation.

Lawyers for the families have said Libya is prepared to pay the families of those killed a total of

£1.6bn (€2.2bn), or about £6m (€8.4m) for each of the 270 people killed.

Libya has indicated it is intent on meeting both UN requirements and on closing the books on an issue that has affected the country’s international relations for years.

Compliance with UN Security Council requirements could lead to a lifting of UN sanctions.

In the United States, Daniel Cohen, whose daughter Theodora died in the attack, said he understood agreement had been reached on both requirements.

“It appears that an agreement has been reached as far as payment of money to the families,” and that the money would be placed in a Swiss escrow account within a week, he said.

He said he also believed a Libyan statement of responsibility had been agreed and would be submitted to the UN Security Council, also within a week. He did not say where he got the information.

Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi was asked on US television earlier this month if his country accepted responsibility and was prepared to pay compensation.

He did not answer directly but said negotiators were nearing a conclusion.

Libya’s foreign minister, Abdel-Rahman Shalqam, said in April that his government accepted “civil responsibility” for the plane’s downing.

In 1999, Libya turned over two indicted agents to the UN for trial. One of the two was convicted of the bombing by a Scottish court in 2001.