LIBYA: The Libyan government has finally accepted responsibility for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing and set up a fund to compensate victims' families, Foreign Minister Mr Mohammed Abderrahmane Chalgam said yesterday.
The United States has demanded that Tripoli accept responsibility for the bombing and pay compensation before UN and US sanctions can be scrapped, a moment eagerly awaited by at least four US oil companies.
A British official said after the announcement that Washington and London were discussing the remaining requirements.
"We have taken on the responsibility for this case on the basis of the international law which states that the state takes on responsibility for what its employees do," Mr Chalgam said.
In a statement, he also said Libya had set up a fund to compensate victims' families. "The provisioning of that fund with the decided amount has started," he added.
A Pan-Am airliner exploded over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in December 1988, killing 270 people. Libyan intelligence agent Abdel Basset al-Magrahi was convicted of the crime in 2001 by a court sitting in the Netherlands.
Libyan officials have held talks with US and British government officials. The sticking point had been Libya's acceptance of government responsibility rather than the compensation, which was agreed last year and could reach $10 million per victim.