US renews diplomatic relations with Libya

The United States has resumed direct diplomatic ties with Libya after a 24-year break.

The news came last night as the Bush administration pursued reports that Colonel Muammar Gaddafi had taken part in a plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s crown prince.

The announcement was made in Tripoli by Assistant Secretary of State William J Burns, after talks with Gaddafi, and also at the State Department.

Burns inaugurated a new US liaison office in Tripoli in what was the latest move by the Bush administration to reciprocate for Gaddafi’s promise last December to dismantle his chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programmes.