UNITED NATIONS, Sept 12: The United Nations Security Council on Friday lifted sanctions on Libya imposed some 15 years ago after the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

The decision clears the way for initial Libyan payments of up to $10 million per victim, or $2.7 billion in total, to the families of the 270 people killed in the bombing.

The resolution was passed with 13 votes in favour and two abstentions, those of France and the United States. Both countries have sanctions of their own against Tripoli which are likely to be lifted if the full agreement was to come into force.

The resolution’s passage was assured on Thursday when France withdrew a threat to veto the measure after relatives of the victims of a separate 1989 bombing of a French UTA airliner won a promise of additional compensation from the Libyan government.

The council imposed the sanctions in 1992 to force Libya to hand over two men for trial in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jet over Lockerbie, Scotland. Once they were turned over in April 1999, the council suspended the sanctions indefinitely — but Libya has pressed for the embargoes to be lifted to restore its standing in the international community.

France had threatened to veto the resolution unless the relatives of the 170 people on the UTA flight got more money from Libya, so the Security Council kept delaying a vote.

Following more than three weeks of delays, the relatives on Thursday announced a framework agreement with Libya that calls for a definitive settlement on increased compensation in a month, clearing the way for lifting sanctions.

France sought a better deal for the UTA victims after Libya agreed to a $2.7 billion compensation deal for the 270 Lockerbie victims on August 15. The deal will give each victim’s family $5 million to $10 million.

France was embarrassed because it settled with Libya in 1999 for just $33 million to be shared by families of the 170 people killed in the bombing of a UTA flight over the Niger desert in 1989 — giving relatives of each victim about $194,000.

Under the accord signed on Wednesday night in Tripoli by representatives of the UTA victims and a Libyan charity, a French foundation is to be set up to pay out indemnities. However, no figure on increased compensation has been put forth by either side.

Britain and the United States said in an August 15 letter to the council that Libya had met all the requirements to lift sanctions — agreeing to a compensation deal, accepting responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing, renouncing terrorism, and offering to cooperate in any future investigations.

If the United States lifts its own sanctions against Libya, the families will receive another $4 million and if Libya is removed from the State Department’s list of countries sponsoring terrorism, they will get an additional $2 million.

However, the US has said that US sanctions against Libya will remain in place because of Libya’s human rights violations, its role in perpetuating regional conflicts in Africa and its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction.