Libya s foreign minister: Chirac's visit is very nearby

The Libyan prime minister Shukri Ghanem said following a meeting with the French President Jacque Chirac in Paris yesterday that Chirac will " shortly visit Libya," but the Elysee palace confirmed that no date was set for such a visit.

Ghanem told reporters following a one-hour meeting with the French President that "President Chirac notified us he will be visiting Libya very shortly." But the Elysee palace explained, in principle the Libyan call but no date was set yet. The spokesman for Chirac said that France and Libya have taken an important step towards the normalization of their relations after reaching an agreement over the "Ota" plane issue.