Swiss President Doris Leuthard said during a visit in Vienna yesterday that she expected the diplomatic spat with Tripoli to be over soon and for a Swiss businessman held in Libya to be released quickly.

This came as Spain announced its Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos would fly to Libya today as the EU's representative, to try to fix the dispute.

Ms Leuthard said, however, she did not appreciate that Malta and Italy, fellow members of the European Schengen visa-free zone, had pressured Switzerland to lift visa restrictions on Libyans.

"The row between Tripoli and Bern had proven to be 'a test' of solidarity between Schengen zone members," the President said.

Switzerland issued a blacklist banning some prominent Libyans from entering the 25-state Schengen visa zone in the wake of a diplomatic row that began in July 2008 with the arrest in Geneva of Hannibal Gaddafi, the son of the Libyan leader.

In February, Malta and Italy had asked "Switzerland to accelerate negotiations with Libya" and to eliminate the blacklist, with Rome later threatening to stop honouring the blacklist after April 5.