What is the price of diplomacy?

The Libyan Foreign Minister's CV has a solid foundation in intelligence activities: He was head of the Libyan intelligence agency for the 15 years prior to 2009. He had also worked as a security specialist for Libyan embassies in Europe before being appointed as Libya's Ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1980, from where he was expelled later that year after stating his intention to eliminate political opponents of the Libyan government who were living in the UK.

Later, he served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1992 to 1994, taking over as head of the Libyan intelligence agency from 1994 to 2009. Therefore, he must have had more than mere political goodwill in mind when he (again) "thanked" the Maltese Prime Minister recently for giving Libya advance warning of the then impending 1986 attack by the US.

The issue as to which country betrayed the US to the Libyans was thought to have been put to rest in October 2008, when then Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel Rahman Shalgham revealed that it was the Italian Prime Minister Bettino Craxi who had warned Muammar Gaddafi two days before the attack that an American raid was imminent. Giulio Andreotti, Italy's Foreign Minister at the time, and Margherita Boniver, foreign affairs chief of Craxi's Socialist Party, both confirmed Mr Shalgham's statement.

One has to wonder if the Maltese Prime Minister accepted Libya's expression of gratitude in a tactful and diplomatic manner, but then did he hasten to set the record straight regarding the events of 1986? Leaving Libya with the impression that Malta would readily sell out its only true friend in the Mediterranean would be an inexcusable diplomatic faux pas of the highest magnitude.

Lest anyone forgets: Libya had declared a 200 mile exclusionary zone from its shores in the 1980s that would have included the Maltese islands. Had it not been for the challenge to Libya that the US mounted on this matter, Malta might well have become Libya's de facto fourth province.

Then again, perhaps the Libyan Foreign Minister was engaging in his own Libyan-style game of brinkmanship. Besides laying the groundwork for a visit to Malta by the Libyan leader and discussing investment, education, illegal immigration, and health, he may have been prepping the Maltese government for the maelstrom which erupted shortly after his visit, and which currently rages within the 25 Schengen countries regarding the Switzerland-Libya visa spat. Switzerland maintains that it introduced a strictly Swiss restrictive visa policy. It has also stated categorically that this restrictive visa policy is not necessarily applicable to other Schengen member states. Switzerland has also questioned the timing and the manner in which Libya has reacted in the last few days.

Meantime, Malta's Home Affairs Minister has decided to throw in Malta's lot with that of Italy. He followed Italy's lead and unleashed his own form of anti-Swiss indignation and outrage. He chose to ignore the fact that Italy had its own reasons for lashing out at the Swiss. Italy's continuing engagement with the Libyans necessitates Italy coming out on the side of Libya. Italy had also agreed to make reparations for its mistreatment of the Libyan people during Italy's colonial occupation of that country. The Libyans had made sure that Italy would act contrite and pay restitution prior to any further warming of relations between the two countries.

On the other hand there was nothing to be gained by Malta to vociferate with its anti-Swiss rhetoric. In due course, reason would have prevailed with the Libyans, and they would have allowed entry to their country to Maltese passport holders, regardless of whether the Swiss caved in or not.

The Home Affairs Minister also ignores the fact that the Swiss are still smarting from the humiliating apology Libya forced Finance Minister and then-President Hans-Rudolf Merz to make during a recent visit to that country to secure the release of two Swiss nationals held hostage by the Libyans.

There are therefore limits to which the Swiss, who could very well teach Malta a thing or two about neutrality, can be pushed.

So, bad move on Malta's part in taking sides in this sordid mess, Mr Home Affairs Minister!