Alleged Libyan Plot Against the Formal Establishment of a U.S. Liaison Office

Question:   Is the issue of an alleged Libyan plot against the Saudi crown prince holding up formal establishment of a US Liaison Office?

Answer:   On June 28, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Bill Burns; and Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Ambassador-at-large, Cofer Black; met with Senior Libyan officials in Tripoli. The meetings provided an opportunity to discuss Libya's commitment to support the global war on terrorism and to repudiate the use of violence for political purposes. After the meetings, Assistant Secretary Burns issued a statement, in which he formally inaugurated the new U.S. Liaison Office in Tripoli and the resumption of direct diplomatic ties.

In response to reports last year that Libya was in contact with Saudi dissidents who have threatened violence against the Saudi royal family in the past, we immediately raised our concerns directly with the Libyan leadership, which assured us it would not support the use of violence for settling political differences with any state.

 As part of the process of reviewing Libya's overall record in renouncing support for terrorism, we are monitoring Libya's behavior carefully and will use every opportunity to reinforce our concerns in high-level meetings, as we did today.

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