Libya stands by commitments: UK

Britain said Wednesday it had been reassured by Libya that Tripoli still accepted responsibility for its officials involved in the bombing in December 1988 of a US airliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie.
"We have received an assurance from the Libyan foreign minister that Libya stands by all its previous commitments regarding Lockerbie," a spokesman for Prime Minister Tony Blair told reporters.
Libyan Prime Minister Shokri Ghanem sparked concern Tuesday by saying Tripoli had agreed to pay compensation for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie in order to "buy peace" with the West.
His remarks seemed to go back on last year's admission of responsibility by Libya for officials involved in the bombing - a step which prompted the lifting of United Nations sanctions on the north African state.
London promptly sought clarification from Tripoli and it appeared Wednesday to be satisfied with the response.
Blair's spokesman said that in addition to standing by its commitments on Lockerbie, Tripoli also stood by its previous statements about the death of British police constable Yvonne Fletcher outside the Libyan embassy in London in 1984.
Ghanem had told BBC radio Tuesday that Tripoli was not guilty of the policewoman's death, which occurred when a gunman opened fire on Libyan dissidents protesting outside the mission.
Libya agreed in July 1999 to pay compensation to Fletcher's family but never turned over the suspected gunman.
Blair's spokesman said the latest assurance from Libya had been received "through diplomatic channels".
He added: "What is important is that progress is made on the issues such as WMD (weapons of mass destruction) and the Fletcher case."
Ties between Britain and Libya improved dramatically after Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi announced in December that his country had given up its bid to obtain weapons of mass destruction.
In a sign that Libya was slowly being accepted back into the international fold, it was announced during a visit by Libyan Foreign Minister Abdulrahman Mohamed Shalgham to London earlier this month that Blair would visit Kadhafi "as soon as convenient".
The British press said Ghanem's comments had put a question mark over any trip by Blair to see Kadhafi. No date has been announced for the visit.