Berlusconi becomes Gaddafi's go-between

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi promised today to convey Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi’s desire to normalise relations with the United States to President George Bush.

Berlusconi spoke in Sirte after becoming the first Western head of government to visit Gaddafi since he said in December he was abandoning all programmes to develop weapons of mass destruction.

Gaddafi’s statement capped a series of moves designed to shed Libya’s image as a rogue state.

Libya now seeks to rejoin the international main stream and secure the lifting of US economic and diplomatic restrictions.

Berlusconi’s discussions with Gaddafi in a desert tent came as Prime Minister Tony Blair met the Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel-Rahman Shalqam in London. It was the highest-level contact between the two countries in more than 20 years.

In Washington, the State Department said the United States was not yet ready to restore diplomatic relations with Libya, but US diplomats and other personnel have been visiting the country in recent weeks to discuss the elimination of its unconventional weapons.

Berlusconi hailed Libya’s decision to scrap mass destruction weapons and its allowing international inspectors to verify the move. He said Italy could now depend on Libya as a force for stability and security in the Mediterranean, and a country that would cooperate in the fight against terrorism and illegal immigration.

“I will also convey several requests from Gaddafi to Bush aiming to normalise relations between both countries,” Berlusconi said.

In the process of dismantling its nuclear and missile programs, Libya has recently shipped thousands of pounds of parts to the United States for storage and conversion. In January, a delegation of Americans met Gaddafi and toured a Libyan nuclear reactor.

Many of the US sanctions on dealing with Libya stem from its having been designated by the State Department as a nation that supports terrorism.

UN sanctions were imposed on Libya for its role in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie that killed 270 people. The sanctions were suspended in 1999 when Libya handed over two suspects for trial, one of whom was convicted.

The UN Security Council abolished the sanctions in September after Libya accepted responsibility for the bombing and agreed to pay compensation to the families of the victims.

Earlier this month, the United States told Libya it was still branded a supporter of terrorism but said some restrictions on commerce may be lifted if Libya keeps scrapping its weapons programs.