No progress in Libyan-Swiss row

There were no new developments yesterday in the Libya-Switzerland visa row even though Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey said both countries were "working well".

The minister's comments were made in a short statement released by the Swiss Foreign Ministry late on Thursday after Ms Calmy-Rey's meeting with Libyan counterpart Mousa Kousa, the Swiss media reported.

The meeting, in Spain, was attended by Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos. Spain currently holds the EU presidency.

Mr Moratinos struck a more positive note, even though he admitted the situation was a difficult one. "There is progress and, overall, a will to find a solution but I cannot hide the difficult situation which Libyan and Swiss authorities are in at the moment," he said.

Libya and Switzerland were set to meet in Berlin yesterday but no news of the meeting was forthcoming.

The dispute between both countries has involved the rest of Europe after Libya blocked Schengen visa holders from entering the country in retaliation to Switzerland's blacklist of Libyan officials, which includes Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and members of his family.

Malta, Italy and France have called on Switzerland to drop the blacklist, accusing the Swiss of abusing the Schengen visa system.

Switzerland's blacklist could disrupt the Libyan leader's planned visit to Malta in March unless a solution is found.

Malta has a direct interest in the dispute because of the business ties that exist with the North African state.

Meanwhile, Switzerland's decision to impose Europe-wide visa restrictions on a number of Libyans was criticised by a Geneva-based international law professor.

Quoted by news site swissinfo.ch, Marcelo Kohen, from Geneva's Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, said Switzerland chose the wrong strategy.

"The Swiss policy toward the conflict with Libya is entirely wrong... instead of trying to solve this minor dispute, it added this Schengen veto policy and aggravated the conflict. It's a complete mistake to use Schengen as a political tool," Prof. Kohen said.

The dispute between Switzerland and Libya dates back to 2008 when Col Gaddafi's son, Hannibal, and his wife were arrested in Switzerland on charges of mistreating two domestic employees, a case that was later dropped. Libya had responded by stopping oil exports to Switzerland, withdrawing financial assets from Swiss accounts and arresting two Swiss businessmen, who are still in Libya.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com