US ends travel curbs on Libyan envoys

In a sign of warming ties, the United States has ended a restriction barring Libyan diplomats from travelling more than 25 miles from Washington and New York.

The decision comes amid improving US-Libyan ties

US Department of State  spokesman Richard Boucher on Friday said the Libyan government had scrapped a similar restriction on US diplomats in Libya.

Until the decision, Libyan diplomats in Washington and at the United Nations headquarters had been prohibited from travelling more than 25 miles from the Washington Monument in the US capital or from Columbus Circle in New York City.

The easing of the travel restrictions is a sign of the improvement in ties following Libya’s December 2003 decision to abandon its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programme.

The US last year ended its trade embargo against Libya as a reward for giving up weapons of mass destruction but left in place sanctions stemming from Libya’s presence on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Source: News Agencies