With a political row over the timing of a British prime minister's visit to Libya raging at home, British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Thursday made a dramatic move to boost ties between Britain and that African nation by shaking hands and holding talks with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in a tent outside the Libyan capital Tripoli.  

Against the backdrop of more than 20 years of split between the two states, local media see the historical trip, the first by a British leader since Winston Churchill went there at the height of the World War II, as a reward for Libya's decision to give up its efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

At a news conference in Tripoli after his historic meeting with Gaddafi, Blair spoke of "real hope" that they can "build a new relationship with it (Tripoli), one for the modern world."     

Promises of cooperation after decades of disputes

As Libya is mounting its efforts to step back into the international mainstream, Blair saw his visit to Libya as a good opportunity to reopen the door for British commercial links with the country.

Following Libya's decisions to ditch banned weapons and pay compensation for the Lockerbie bombing, British companies are eyeing investment and contracting opportunities in Libya, which has a rich reserve of oil and gas.

Shell, the Anglo-Dutch oil giant, announced on Thursday a US$200-million contract with Libya to reenter the country's oil and gas industry.

Claiming he was struck by Gaddafi's "insistence on Libya's determination to carry on down this path of cooperation," Blair also promised Libya a "new military relationship" that would see a major general as Britain's defense coordinator with Libya.

Blair's historic handshake with Gaddafi should be considered as a new page for Anglo-Libyan relationship, analysts said.

Blair's trip to Libya, which would boost the cultural and trade ties between the two countries, came after nearly dozens of years of quarrels and disputes.

Diplomatic ties between Britain and Libya were severed in 1984 due to the row over a British policewoman's killing outside the Libyan embassy in London and restored in 1999 after two Libyans accused of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland were handed over for trial.

Relations between the two states were boosted during a visit to London in February by Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel Rahman Shalgham, the first visit of this kind since 1969, which came after Britain played a key role in the deal last December under which Libya promised to give up its banned weapons in return for normal trade and diplomatic relations with the United States and other Western countries.

It was right to continue talks with Libya after the Libyan government decided to dismantle its WMD, British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott told lawmakers before Blair's trip.     

Critics condemned visit while Blair admitted risks

Blair's efforts to seek reconciliation with Libya, which came a day after he joined other world leaders at a memorial service in Madrid, Spain, for the victims of the terrorist bombings on March 11, caused political controversy in Britain.

The British major opposition Conservative Party argued that it was "quite odd timing to go from a service which commemorates the victims of the biggest terrorist attack on Europe since Lockerbie, to go straight to Libya," amid concerns that Blair should not "take a risk" to visit Libya as the north African country was accused of supporting terrorism and providing weapons for the Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland.

Blair admitted there were risks when dealing with Libya, but insisted he was willing to take them if they can make this change come about.

"If we can show nations with dangerous nuclear, or chemical, or biological weapons programs that they can give them up voluntarily and be then met with a serious and considered response, it will offer us and them a way forward from the enmity of the past that will improve the lives and security of us all," Blair told reporters.

As the visit to Libya by US Assistant Secretary of State William Burns on Tuesday lightens the hope of normalization of ties between the United States and Libya, Blair has set out to achieve several aims through taking the diplomatic lead in ending Libya's international isolation.

Analysts here said by publicly rewarding Gaddafi for the steps he has taken, Blair meant to encourage other alleged proliferators to follow Libya's example.

Besides, getting support for fighting terrorism would be Blair's top priority during his Tripoli visit, they noted.

The British government has been under great pressure for staunchly supporting the US-led Iraq war and after the March 11 train bombings in Madrid as possible terrorist attacks on Britain has been casting a shadow over the country.

Blair hopes that Libya would help ease the tension between Britain and the Islamic world caused by the Iraq war, thus alleviating the pressure Britain is facing in the fight against terror, analysts said.

Analysts said that Libya could also win a point with the meeting in getting international support for lifting sanctions against Tripoli and improving its international image, because Blair, a staunch US ally and leader of one of the most important EU members, could raise Britain's voice in international affairs by playing the role of a mediator between Libya and the United States and the European Union.     

Meeting of real détente or gamble?

However, some suggested that Blair's efforts to woo Libya might turn into a gamble. Given the strained, even hostile, relations between Britain and Libya over the past more than 20 years and the background of the Lockerbie airliner bombing that killed 270 people, people might not expect to see Britain and Libya on good terms without any quarrel, they said.

Although Libya is talking of an alliance with Britain against terror and making progress in dismantling its banned weapons program, possibility of Tripoli failing to fully honor its commitments would make Blair's government lose argument for its "constructive engagement" policy, they warned.

Just as Blair pointed out in Tripoli on Thursday, trust between the two countries needs a long time to establish.

"In reaching out the hand of partnership today, we do not forget the past," Blair said after his talks with Gaddafi. "But we do try in the light of the genuine changes happening to move beyond it."

(Xinhua News Agency March 26, 2004)