Libya keeps silence over giving compensations to France

France announced yesterday that Libya vowed to pay compensations for the victims of the French UTA explosions over Niger in 1989 which claimed the lives of 170 persons. However, the two countries will not make sideline talks during the Tunis summit, held on Friday, which will be attended by five European states including France and north African states including Libya.

Libya's Leader of the Revolution Colonel Muammar al Qathafi will be meeting with the French President Jacque Chirac at the summit after weeks of the suspension of talks over the compensation issue stemming from the incident.

The spokeswoman for the French President Cathrene Colona told reporters before Chirac's visit to Tunis that "the state of Libya will declare certain obligations at the highest level." But she explained that it has not been decided to convene a separate meeting between Qathafi and Chirac.