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Spain FM in Libya in bid to end Swiss row
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos arrived in Libya on Saturday 27th March, in a bid to persuade the North African country to lift visa restrictions on European citizens.State-run Jana news agency said, in a report, that Moratinos, whose country holds the presidency of the European Union, landed in Libya to attend the opening session of the 22nd Arab summit, currently held in the country.
However, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said Friday that Moratinos will travel to Libya in a bid to end a spat between Libya and Switzerland that disrupted mobility between Libya and the EU nations.
The dispute could be resolved “in the coming hours or days,” Zapatero said at the end of a two-day EU summit in Brussels. “I think we are nearing a settlement.”
Tension has been mounting between Libya and Switzerland as Libya suspended issuing entry visas to citizens from the Schengen area of 25 European countries, including Switzerland, after Libyan authorities detained two Swiss businessmen, one of them was released last month.
The move came in response to Switzerland’s visa blacklist that included 188 Libyan figures amid diplomatic row between the two countries.
The situation took a worse turn when Libyan leader called last week for Jihad, or holy war, against Switzerland over the latter’s decision to ban mosque minarets in the country.
Switzerland said Wednesday 24th March it was ready to lift the travel ban, a move that drew satisfaction by the Spanish presidency of the European Union.
EU foreign policy chief Baroness Ashton said she expected Libya, for its part, to free the other Swiss businessman, now serving a four-month jail term, and drop visa restrictions on Europeans.