July 24, 2007	Tuesday	Rajab 08, 1428

TRIPOLI, July 23: Tripoli has made a new demand from an EU diplomat seeking the release of six medics convicted of infecting Libyan children with the HIV virus, a diplomatic source said on Monday.

European Union External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner had arrived in the Libyan capital on Sunday bidding to end the eight-year ordeal of the medics.

But, in overnight talks, Libyan officials presented her with conditions for the release of the five Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian doctor, according to the diplomatic source.

Libya's foreign ministry had sought EU guarantees for the “complete standardisation of Libya's relations with the countries of the European Union at all levels,” said the source.

It also repeated an earlier request that the EU provide treatment for the HIV-infected Libyan children, added the source.

Relations between the EU and Libya have warmed considerably since 2003, when Tripoli decided to renounce ambitions to acquire weapons of mass destruction, and moved to settle issues concerning the Lockerbie affair.

UN sanctions against Libya were lifted in September 2003, but Tripoli remains excluded from economic benefits extended by the EU beyond its borders under the Barcelona Process and the European Neighbourhood Policy.—AFP