Foreign relations of Libya
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2008-07-09T17:10:39Z
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[[Image:Libyan Peoples Bureau London plaque.jpg|thumb|right|A plaque at the Libyan People’s Bureau (Embassy) in London, Knightsbridge, styling the diplomatic office as ‘The People’s Bureau of the Grea
{{Politics of Libya}}
[[Libya]]'s [[Foreign policy|foreign policies]] have undergone much fluctuation and change since the state declared its independence from [[Italy]] on [[December 24]], [[1951]]. In the [[Muammar al-Gaddafi]] era, it has been marked by severe tension with the [[Western world|West]] (especially the [[United States]], although relations were normalized in the early 21st century) and by Gaddafi's activist policies in the [[Middle East]] and [[Africa]], including his financial and military support for numerous paramilitary and rebel groups.
==The Libyan Kingdom==
As a kingdom, Libya maintained a definitively pro-Western stance, yet was recognized as belonging to the conservative traditionalist bloc in the [[Arab League|League of Arab States]], of which it became a member in 1953.<ref>Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress, (1987), [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ly0036) <u>"Independent Libya"<u>], ''U.S. Library of Congress'', Accessed July 14 2006</ref>
The [[Politics of Libya|government]] was in close alliance with the United States and [[United Kingdom]]; both countries maintained military base rights in Libya. The U.S. supported the [[United Nations]] [[United Nations resolution|resolution]] providing for [[Libya]]n independence in 1951 and raised the status of its office at [[Tripoli]] from a [[consulate general]] to a [[legation]]. Libya opened a legation in [[Washington, D.C.]], in 1954. Both countries subsequently raised their missions to embassy level. Libya also forged close ties with [[France]], [[Italy]], [[Greece]], and [[Turkey]], and established full diplomatic relations with the [[Soviet Union]] in 1955.
Although the government supported Arab causes, including the [[Morocco|Moroccan]] and [[Algeria]]n independence movements, it took little active part in the [[Arab-Israeli conflict]] or the tumultuous inter-Arab politics of the 1950s and early 1960s. The kingdom was noted for its close association with the West, while it steered an essentially conservative course at home.<ref>Abadi, Jacob (2000), [http://www.lib.unb.ca/Texts/JCS/bin/get7.cgi?directory=Fall00/&filename=Abadi.htm <u>"Pragmatism and Rhetoric in Libya's Policy Toward Israel"<u>], ''The Journal of Conflict Studies: Volume XX Number 1 Fall 2000, University of New Brunswick'', Accessed July 19 2006</ref>
==The Gaddafi Era==
[[Image:Libyan Peoples Bureau London plaque.jpg|thumb|right|A plaque at the Libyan People’s Bureau (Embassy) in London, Knightsbridge, styling the diplomatic office as ‘The People’s Bureau of the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya’.]]
Since 1969, [[Colonel]] [[Muammar al-Gaddafi]] has determined [[Libya]]'s foreign policy. His principal foreign policy goals have been Arab unity, elimination of [[Israel]], advancement of [[Islam]], support for [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]]s, elimination of outside -- particularly Western -- influence in the [[Middle East]] and [[Africa]], and support for a range of "revolutionary" causes.
After the 1969 [[coup d'état|coup]], U.S.-Libyan relations became increasingly strained because of Libya's foreign policies supporting international [[terrorism]] and subversion against moderate Arab and African governments. Gaddafi closed [[United States|American]] and [[United Kingdom|British]] bases on Libyan territory and partially [[Nationalization|nationalized]] all foreign oil and commercial interests in Libya.
===1970s===
[[Export]] controls on [[military]] equipment and [[Civil aviation|civil aircraft]] were imposed during the 1970s.
In 1972, the United States withdrew its [[Ambassadors from the United States|ambassador]].
Gaddafi played a key role in promoting the use of oil [[embargo]]es as a political weapon for challenging the West, hoping that an oil price rise and embargo in 1973 would persuade the West--especially the United States--to end support for Israel. Gaddafi rejected both Soviet [[communism]] and Western [[capitalism]] and claimed he was charting a middle course for his government.<ref>The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, (2001 - 2005), [http://www.bartleby.com/65/qa/Qaddafi.html <u>"Qaddafi, Muammar al-"<u>], ''Bartleby Books'', Accessed July 19 2006</ref>
In October 1978, Gaddafi sent Libyan troops to aid [[Idi Amin]] in the [[Uganda-Tanzania War]] when Amin tried to annex the northern [[Tanzania]]n province of [[Kagera Region|Kagera]], and Tanzania counterattacked. Amin lost the battle and later fled to exile in Libya, where he remained for almost a year.<ref>Biography, [http://www.cbv.ns.ca/dictator/Amin.html <u>"Idi Amin"<u>], ''Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board'', Accessed [[July 19]] [[2006]]</ref>
Libya also was one of the main supporters of the [[Polisario Front]] in the former [[Spanish Sahara]]<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sahara-Update/message/234
| author = Michael Bhatia
| title = Western Sahara under Polisario Control: Summary Report of Field Mission to the Sahrawi Refugee Camps (near Tindouf, Algeria)
| accessdate = 2006-08-08
| date = 2000-06-151
| publisher = Review of African Political Economy (ROAPE Publications Ltd.)
}}</ref> - a [[nationalism|nationalist]] group dedicated to ending [[Spanish Empire|Spanish colonialism]] in the region. The [[Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic]] (SADR) was proclaimed by [[Polisario]] on [[February 28]], [[1976]], and Libya [[Foreign relations of Western Sahara|began to recognize the SADR]] as the legitimate government of [[Western Sahara]] starting [[April 15]], [[1980]]. It is still common for [[Sahrawi]] students to attend their schooling in Libya.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=qw1111035421956B242
| author = Marina de Russe
| title = Frustration stalks Saharan refugee camps
| accessdate = 2006-08-08
| date = 2005-03-17
| publisher = IOL, South African news agency
}}</ref>
U.S. [[Diplomatic mission|embassy]] staff members were withdrawn from Tripoli after a mob attacked and set fire to the embassy in December 1979. The [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. government]] declared Libya a "[[State-sponsored terrorism|state sponsor of terrorism]]" on [[December 29]], [[1979]].
===1980s===
In May 1981, the U.S. government closed the Libyan "people's bureau" (embassy) in Washington, D.C. and expelled the Libyan staff in response their conduct generally violating internationally accepted standards of diplomatic behavior.
In August 1981, in the [[Gulf of Sidra incident (1981)|first incident]] of the [[Gulf of Sidra]], two Libyan jets fired on U.S. aircraft participating in a routine naval exercise over [[international waters]] of the [[Mediterranean Sea]] claimed by Libya. The U.S. planes returned fire and shot down the attacking Libyan aircraft. On [[December 11]], 1981, the [[United States Department of State|State Department]] invalidated U.S. [[passport]]s for travel to Libya (a ''[[de facto]]'' travel ban) and, for purposes of safety, advised all U.S. citizens in Libya to leave. In March 1982, the U.S. government prohibited imports of Libyan crude oil into the United States <ref> {{cite news |title= Proclamation 4907 -- Imports of Petroleum | publisher= US Office of the Federal Register | date= 1982-03-10| url=http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1982/31082a.htm |author=President Ronald Reagan}}</ref>
and expanded the controls on U.S.-origin goods intended for export to Libya. Licenses were required for all transactions, except food and medicine. In March 1984, U.S. export controls were expanded to prohibit future exports to the Ras al-Enf petrochemical complex. In April 1985, all [[Export-Import Bank of the United States|Export-Import Bank]] financing was prohibited.
[[Image:Libyan Peoples Bureau London.jpg|thumb|right|Libyan People’s Bureau (Embassy) in London, Knightsbridge, 2008.]]
Also in 1984, the [[United Kingdom]] severed diplomatic relations with Libya after the killing of British policewoman [[Yvonne Fletcher]] outside the Libyan embassy in London. Ties were re-established in [[1999]].
The United States adopted additional [[economic sanctions]] against Libya in January 1986, including a total ban on direct import and export trade, commercial contracts, and travel-related activities. In addition, Libyan government assets in the United States were frozen.
Libyan complicity was discovered in the 1986 [[West Berlin|Berlin]] [[1986 Berlin discotheque bombing|discotheque terrorist bombing]] that killed two American servicemen. The United States responded by launching an [[Bombing of Libya|aerial bombing attack]] against targets near Tripoli and [[Benghazi]] in April of that year.<ref>Boyne, Walter J., (March, 1999), [http://www.afa.org/magazine/march1999/0399canyon.asp <u>"El Dorado Canyon"<u>], ''Air Force Association Journal, Vol. 82, No. 3'', Accessed [[July 19]] [[2006]]. See also Bernd Schaefer and Christian Nuenlist (eds.), [http://www.isn.ethz.ch/php/collections/coll_5.htm <u>"The US Air Raid on Libya on April 1986: A Confidential Soviet Account"<u>], [[Parallel History Project]] (PHP), November 2001, Accessed August 2006</ref>
In 1988, Libya was found to be in the process of constructing a [[chemical weapon]]s plant at Rabta, a plant which is now the largest such facility in the [[Third World]]. As of January 2002, Libya was constructing another chemical weapons production facility at [[Tarhunah]]. Citing Libya's support for terrorism and its past regional aggressions the United States voiced concern over this development. In cooperation with like-minded countries, the United States has since sought to bring a halt to the foreign technical assistance deemed essential to the completion of this facility. See [[Chemical_weapon_proliferation#Libya]].
Libya's relationship with the former [[Soviet Union]] involved massive Libyan arms purchases from the [[Eastern Bloc|Soviet bloc]] and the presence of thousands of east bloc advisers. Libya's use--and heavy loss--of Soviet-supplied weaponry in its [[Aouzou Strip|war]] with [[Chad]] was a notable breach of an apparent Soviet-Libyan understanding not to use the weapons for activities inconsistent with Soviet objectives. As a result, Soviet-Libyan relations reached a nadir in mid-1987.
In January 1989, there was [[Gulf of Sidra incident (1989)|another encounter]] over the Gulf of Sidra between U.S. and Libyan aircraft which resulted in the downing of two Libyan jets.
===[[Lockerbie]] disaster===
In 1991 two Libyan [[Espionage|intelligence agent]]s were charged with the [[Pan Am Flight 103#Explosion|bombing]] in December 1988 of [[Pan American World Airways|Pan American]] [[Pan Am Flight 103|Flight 103]]. [[Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi]] and [[Lamin Khalifah Fhimah]] were tried by prosecutors in the U.S. and [[Scotland]]. Six other Libyans were put on trial in their absence by a [[Paris]] court for the 1989 bombing of [[Union des Transports Aériens|Union Air Transport]] [[UTA Flight 772|Flight 772]]. They were found guilty and sentenced to [[life imprisonment]].<ref>(2003),[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3163621.stm <u>"UTA 772: The forgotten flight"<u>], BBC News.</ref>
The [[United Nations]] [[United Nations Security Council|Security Council]] passed a [[United Nations Security Council Resolution|resolution]] asking Libya to surrender the suspects, cooperate with the Pan Am 103 and UTA 772 investigations, pay compensation to the victims' families, and cease all support for terrorism. Libya's refusal to comply led to the approval of Resolution 748 on [[March 31]], [[1992]], which imposed sanctions designed to bring about Libyan compliance. The U.N. imposed further sanctions with Resolution 883, a limited assets freeze and an embargo on selected oil equipment, in November 1993.<ref>(2003), [http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/sanction/libya/indxirlb.htm <u>"Libya"<u>], Global Policy Forum, Accessed July 19 2006</ref>
The Libyan government refused to comply until 1999, when it surrendered two Libyans suspected of involvement in the Pan Am 103 bombing for trial, leading to the suspension of U.N. sanctions. On [[January 31]], [[2001]], a [[Scotland|Scottish]] court seated in the [[Netherlands]] found one of the suspects, Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, guilty of murder in connection with the bombing, and acquitted the second suspect, Lamin Khalifah Fhimah. Megrahi has appealed his conviction; the appeal began on [[January 23]], [[2002]].
Full lifting of U.N. sanctions was contingent on Libyan compliance with its remaining Security Council requirements on Pan Am 103, including acceptance of responsibility for the actions of its officials and payment of appropriate compensation. The United States continued to call on Libya to comply with its remaining requirements, including acceptance of responsibility for the actions of its officials and payment of appropriate compensation.
===1990s===
There have been no credible reports of Libyan involvement in [[terrorism]] since 1994, and Libya has taken significant steps to mend its international image.
In 1996, the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA) was enacted, seeking to penalize non-U.S. companies which invest more than [[United States dollar|$]]40 million in Libya's oil and gasoline sector in any one year. ILSA was renewed in 2001, and the investment cap lowered to $20 million.
After the dissolution of the [[Warsaw Pact]] and the Soviet Union, Libya concentrated on expanding diplomatic ties with [[Third World]] countries and increasing its commercial links with [[Europe]] and [[East Asia]]. Following the imposition of U.N. sanctions in 1992, these ties significantly diminished. Following a 1998 Arab League meeting in which fellow Arab states decided not to challenge U.N. sanctions, Gaddafi announced that he was turning his back on pan-Arab ideas, one of the fundamental tenets of his philosophy.
Instead, Libya pursued closer bilateral ties, particularly with [[Egypt]] and [[Northwest Africa]]n nations [[Tunisia]] and [[Morocco]]. It also has sought to develop its relations with Sub-Saharan [[Africa]], leading to Libyan involvement in several internal African disputes in the [[Democratic Republic of Congo]], [[Sudan]], [[Somalia]], [[Central African Republic]], [[Eritrea]], and [[Ethiopia]]. Libya also has sought to expand its influence in Africa through financial assistance, ranging from aid donations to impoverished neighbors such as [[Niger]] to oil subsidies to [[Zimbabwe]]. Gaddafi has proposed a borderless "[[United States of Africa]]" to transform the continent into a single nation-state ruled by a single government. This plan has been moderately well received, although more powerful would-be participants such as [[Nigeria]] and [[South Africa]] are skeptical.
Libya paid compensation in 1999 for the death of British policewoman [[Yvonne Fletcher]], a move that preceded the reopening of the British embassy in Tripoli and paid damages to the families of the victims in the bombing of UTA Flight 772.
===Détente===
[[Image:Libya Embassy Berlin - Mutter Erde fec.jpg|thumb|Embassy in Berlin]]
In 2003 Libya began to make policy changes with the open intention of pursuing a Western-Libyan [[détente]]. The Libyan government announced its decision to abandon its [[weapons of mass destruction]] programs and pay almost $3 billion dollars in compensation to the families of Pan Am Flight 103 and UTA Flight 772.<ref>Marcus, Jonathan, ([[May 15]] [[2006]]), [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4774305.stm <u>"Washington's Libyan fairy tale"<u>], ''BBC News'', Accessed July 15 2006</ref>
Since 2003 the country has restored normal diplomatic ties with the [[European Union]] and the United States and has even coined the catchphrase, 'The Libya Model', an example intended to show the world what can be achieved through negotiation rather than force when there is goodwill on both sides.<ref>Hirsh, Michael, ([[May 11]] [[2006]]), [http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13086.htm <u>"The Real Libya Model"<u>], ''Newsweek'', Accessed July 15 2006</ref>
In early 2004, the U.S. State Department ended its ban on U.S. citizens using their passports for travel to Libya or spending money there. U.S. citizens began legally heading back to Libya (some U.S. travellers went to Libya illegally through third countries during the travel ban) for the first time since 1981.
On [[May 15]], [[2006]], [[David Welch]], [[Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs]], announced that the U.S. had decided to, after a 45-day comment period, renew full diplomatic relations with Libya and remove Libya from the U.S. list of countries that foster terrorism.<ref>Welsh, David, ([[May 15]] [[2006]]), [http://www.state.gov/p/nea/rls/rm/2006/66268.htm <u>"Issues Related to United States Relations With Libya"<u>], ''U.S. Department of State'', Accessed August 10 2006</ref>
During this announcement, it was also said that the U.S. has the intention of upgrading the U.S. liaison office in Tripoli into an embassy. <ref>([[May 15]] [[2006]]), [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4773617.stm <u>"US to renew full ties with Libya"<u>], ''BBC News'', Accessed August 10 2006</ref> The U.S. embassy in Tripoli opened in May. This has been product of a gradual normalization of international relations since Libya accepted responsibility for the Pan Am 103 bombing. Libya's dismantling of its weapons of mass destruction was a major step towards this announcement, and it is seen as an incentive for Iran to do likewise.
Relations with [[Bulgaria]] has been troublesome after [[HIV trial in Libya|a group of Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor were accused of infecting Libyan children]] with [[HIV]] when they worked at a Libyan hospital; the nurses were sentenced to death in a Libyan court, but the death sentences were ultimately commuted and the Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian doctor were ultimately deported back to Bulgaria.
A fight between [[Uganda]]n and [[Libya]]n presidential guards sparked chaos during a ceremony attended by the heads of state from 11 African nations on [[March 19]] [[2008]].<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/03/20/uganda.libya/index.html "Guards for African leaders battle; dozen injured"], ''CNN'', Accessed March 20 2008</ref>
== Conflict with Chad ==
{{main|Chadian-Libyan conflict}}
[[Image:Map of Aouzou stip chad.PNG|thumb|Aouzou strip (blue)]]
Libya long claimed the [[Aouzou Strip]], a strip of land in northern [[Chad]] rich with [[uranium]] deposits that was intensely involved in [[Chadian-Libyan conflict|Chad's civil war]] in the 1970s and 1980s.
In 1973, Libya engaged in military operations in the Aouzou Strip to gain access to minerals and to use it as a base of influence in Chadian politics. Libya argued that the territory was inhabited by indigenous people who owed allegiance to the [[Sanusiya Order|Senoussi Order]] and subsequently to the [[Ottoman Empire]], and that this title had been inherited by Libya. It also supported its claim with an unratified 1935 treaty between [[France]] and [[Italy]], the [[Colonialism|colonial power]]s of Chad and Libya, respectively. After consolidating its hold on the strip, Libya [[Annexation|annexed]] it in 1976.
Chadian forces were able to [[Toyota War|force the Libyans]] to retreat from the Aouzou Strip in 1987.
A cease-fire between Chad and Libya held from 1987 to 1988, followed by unsuccessful negotiations over the next several years, leading finally to the 1994 [[International Court of Justice]] decision granting Chad sovereignty over the Aouzou Strip, which ended Libyan [[military occupation|occupation]].
==Border disputes==
Libya claims about 19,400 km² in northern [[Niger]] and part of southeastern [[Algeria]]. In addition, it is involved in a maritime boundary dispute with [[Tunisia]].{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
== International incidents ==
===Benghazi hospital affair===
{{main|HIV trial in Libya}}
In the late 1990s a [[Benghazi]] [[children's hospital]] was the site of an [[outbreak]] of [[HIV]] infection that spread to over 400 patients. Libya blamed the outbreak on five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor, who were arrested and eventually sentenced to death (eventually overturned and a new trial ordered). The international view is that Libya has used the medics as [[scapegoat]]s for poor hygiene conditions, and [[Bulgaria]] and other countries including the [[European Union]] and the [[United States]] have repeatedly called on Tripoli to release them. The case remains unresolved, and is the source of increasing tensions with Bulgaria, as well as an obstacle to continuing the process of improved relations with the West - a new trial began [[May 11]], [[2006]] in Tripoli. On [[December 6]], a study was released showing that some children had been infected before the six arrived in Libya, but it was too late for inclusion as evidence (in any event, the Libyan court had already rejected non-Libyan scientific studies). On [[December 19]], [[2006]] the six were again convicted and sentenced to death. They were finally released in June 2007, in exchange for a variety of agreements with the EU, and they were returned to Bulgaria safely.
===La Belle disco bombing===
On [[November 13]], [[2001]], a [[Germany|German]] court found four persons, including a former employee of the Libyan embassy in [[East Berlin]], guilty in connection with the 1986 [[1986 Berlin discotheque bombing|Berlin discotheque bombing]] (see above), in which 229 people were injured and two U.S. servicemen were killed. The court also established a connection to the Libyan government. The [[Politics of Germany|German government]] has demanded that Libya accept responsibility for the La Belle bombing and pay appropriate compensation.
==Support for rebel and paramilitary groups==
The government of Libya has also received enormous criticism and trade restrictions for allegedly providing numerous armed rebel groups with weapons, explosives and combat training. The ideologies of some of these organizations have varied greatly, even confusing outsiders at times. However most seem to be [[Nationalism|nationalist]], with some having a [[Socialism|socialist]] ideology; while others hold a more [[Conservatism|conservative]] and [[Islam]]ic [[Islamic fundamentalism|fundamentalist]] ideology.
Paramilitaries supported by Libya past and present include:
*The [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] (IRA) (describing themselves in [[Irish language|Irish]] as ''[[Óglaigh na hÉireann]]'') of [[Northern Ireland]], a left-wing Irish paramilitary group that fought a [[Provisional IRA campaign 1969–1997|29-year war]] for a [[United Ireland]]. See [[Provisional IRA arms importation]] for details. ''Note that many of the break away [[Irish Republican]] groups which oppose the [[Good Friday Agreement]] (the [[Continuity Irish Republican Army]] and the [[Real Irish Republican Army]]) are believed to be in possession of a significant amount of the Libyan ammunition and [[semtex]] explosives delivered to the IRA during the 1970s and 1980s.''
*The [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] of the Israeli occupied [[West Bank]] and [[Gaza Strip]] received of support from [[Libya]], as well as many other Arab states.
*The [[Moro National Liberation Front]] was a right-wing [[Islamic fundamentalism|Islamic fundamentalist]] rebel army which fought in the [[Philippines]] against the military dictatorship of [[Ferdinand Marcos]]
*[[Umkhonto we Sizwe]] - [[Xhosa]], for the "spear of the nation" was originally the military wing of the [[African National Congress]] (a multi racial, center-left political party) which fought against the white minority led [[Apartheid]] regime in [[South Africa]]. During the years of MK's underground struggle the group was supported by Libya.
*[[ETA]] - [[Basque Fatherland and Liberty]], a left-wing Basque separatist group fighting for the independence of the [[Basques]] from [[Spain]] with ties to the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] also received training support from Libya in the 1960s and mid-'70s .
*Libya was also was one the main supporters of the [[Polisario Front]] in the former [[Spanish Sahara]]<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sahara-Update/message/234
| author = Michael Bhatia
| title = Western Sahara under Polisario Control: Summary Report of Field Mission to the Sahrawi Refugee Camps (near Tindouf, Algeria)
| accessdate = 2006-08-08
| date = 2000-06-151
| publisher = Review of African Political Economy (ROAPE Publications Ltd.)
}}</ref> - a [[nationalism|nationalist]] group dedicated to ending [[Spanish Empire|Spanish colonialism]] in the region, and from 1975, to combatting the [[Moroccan]] [[Military occupation|occupation]] of what is now known as [[Western Sahara]]. The [[Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic]] (SADR) was proclaimed by Polisario on [[History of Western Sahara|February 28, 1976]], and Libya [[Foreign relations of Western Sahara|began to recognize the SADR]] as the legitimate government of [[Western Sahara]] starting April 15, 1980. While monetary and military Libyan support for the [[Sahrawi]] cause dwindled in the mid-1980s, after a rapprochement with [[Morocco]], the enemy of Polisario, some Sahrawi [[refugee]] students are still able to apply for higher education in Libya.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=qw1111035421956B242
| author = Marina de Russe
| title = Frustration stalks Saharan refugee camps
| accessdate = 2006-08-08
| date = 2005-03-17
| publisher = IOL, South African news agency
}}</ref>
==Notes==
<references />
==See also==
*[[Diplomatic missions of Libya]]
*[[Iran-Arab relations#Libya|Iran-Arab Relations (Libya)]]
*[[Libya and nuclear technology]]
*[[List of diplomatic missions in Libya]]
==External links==
*[http://www.libyanbureau-dc.org/ Libyan Embassy in Washington DC]
*[http://tripoli.usmission.gov United States Embassy in Tripoli]
{{Africa in topic|Foreign relations of}}
[[Category:Foreign relations of Libya| ]]