American energy secretary considers visiting Tripoli

The US energy secretary Spencer Abraham said he thinks "seriously" of accepting an invitation he had received on Monday to visit Tripoli.

In a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Helmi Guller at Istanbul airport, Abraham said "I have received an invitation to visit Libya in future and we seriously think of this visit." He cited Libya as an example because it has given up all its mass destruction programs.

He added that Libya proved " that countries of the world who abide by the rules of the International Agency for Atomic Energy and wishes to give up its programs to develop mass destruction weapons can quickly join the international community and be a very constructive member in this society."

He stressed " he greatly appreciated" the invitation to visit Tripoli conveyed to him by the Libyan deputy prime minister Matouk Matouk in Vienna on the sideline of the general conference for the Atomic Agency.