Briefing on Recent Africa Trip

Secretary Condoleezza Rice
Washington, DC
February 22, 2008

(3:35 p.m. EST)

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QUESTION: It’s been nearly two years since you restored full diplomatic ties with Libya and yet, you have not been to Libya yourself. You still can’t get the ambassador through Congress and the Lautenberg Amendment seems to be straining relations between yourself and Tripoli. The Foreign Minster has sent you a letter recently asking you to intervene to what they say is correct the – that legislation. What is the state of relations at the moment with Libya? When are you going? Do you think it’s in trouble?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, Sue, if you look back not at the last two years, but at the 20-plus before that, you have to say that we are on a completely different footing with Libya. And we want to press relations forward and to move them forward. Libya made an important strategic choice to give up its weapons of mass destruction. We believe that it’s made an important choice to get out of the terrorism business. But we do still have differences. We are concerned about the families of terrorism victims and we have tried to encourage that there be solutions and resolution to some of those problems.

But I still expect that I will go to Libya. I expect that we’ll continue to have to talk about difficult things: human rights, terrorism. We’re looking at the Lautenberg Amendment and its effect and what can be done, but obviously, when you have a major strategic shift of the kind that Libya has made, you want there to be some affirmation of the importance of having done that. I would say that the very fact that you have American companies and other European companies and diplomats going in to Libya, engaging the Libyans in ways that was unimaginable just a few years ago, already shows some of the benefit of Libya having made these decisions. But I think we want to try and press this forward, and I’m certainly personally preparing to do so.

Maybe one more question. Yes.

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