Vote for lifting sanctions imposed on Libya postponed

The UN Security Council has postponed voting for a draft resolution to lift sanctions imposed by the UN on Libya in order to give France more time to negotiate with Tripoli concerning financial compensations for the victims of the French passenger plane tot have similar compensation given to the victims of Lockerbie incident.

At Paris's request, the Council asked each of France and Britain to reach an agreement between themselves concerning a vote which was due yesterday.

London asked the UN Security Council, at Washington's support to hurry to end the sanctions following Libya's claimed responsibility for the blowing up of a Pan Am plane in 1988 over Lockerbie and its approval to pay compensations for the victims' families.

However, fears emerged on the possibility of obstructing the completion of this deal when France had reservations in that it holds veto power over the compensations deal, and called for reconsidering the compensations it had received from Tripoli for the families of 170 persons who were killed in the explosion of a French passenger plane of UTA over Niger in 1989.

Paris considered that reaching what it described a fair agreement with Tripoli on compensating families of the victims of the French plane is an imperative precondition in order to lift the sanctions off Tripoli.

For its part, Libya said it is ready to find out a middle solution to France's demand, but simultaneously warned that France's persistent to postpone or obstruct lifting the sanctions might threatens the financial settlement agreement for the families of victims of Lockerbie incident.