"Libya's agreement marks the beginning of a process of rejoining the community of nations," said Bush

ST. LOUIS, United States, January 6 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Despite positive Libyan overtures on unconventional arms, President George W. Bush renewed Monday, January 5, long-running U.S. sanctions on Libya, demanding more "concrete steps".

"The crisis with respect to Libya has not been fully resolved, and I have therefore determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared [in 1986] with respect to Libya and maintain in force the comprehensive sanctions against Libya," Bush said in a statement during his visit to Saint Louis, Missouri.

The statement did not specify the duration of the renewal, but such sanctions - which include a freeze on Libyan assets in the U.S. - have been renewed annually since they were first imposed, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The U.S. imposed political and economic sanctions on Libya after the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, a U.S. airliner, over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing 270 people.

Libya was under international sanctions since 1992 over the bombing of which Libya had accepted civil responsibility.

Concrete Steps

Bush, however, praised Libya's surprise announcement that it would dismantle its weapons of mass destruction programs and allow U.N. inspections of its nuclear facilities but said action must follow words.

"Libya's agreement marks the beginning of a process of rejoining the community of nations, but its declaration of December 19, 2003, must be followed by verification of concrete steps," he said.

"As Libya takes tangible steps to address those concerns, the United States will in turn take reciprocal tangible steps to recognize Libya's progress," Bush argued.

The American wartime leader also acknowledged lingering U.S. concerns about Libya's "role with respect to terrorism" as well as its "poor human rights record".

The U.N. lifted its embargo in September after Tripoli agreed to pay 2.7 billion dollars in compensation for the families of the Lockerbei victims.

Despite toeing its line, the U.S. refused December 29 to ease diplomatic  pressure on Libya, warning its long-time foe there was a long way to go before normalizing ties.

But Libya's Prime Minister Shukri Ghanim told the New York Times in an interview published Friday, January 2, that the U.S. should act quickly to reward his country.

He warned that unless the U.S. lifted sanctions by May 12, Libya would not be bound to pay the remaining $6 million promised to each family of the victims.

A quick lifting of American sanctions would allow American oil companies to return to Tripoli this spring and pave the way for unfreezing $1 billion in assets that Libyan officials say are languishing in American banks.