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EU cites progress in bid to free Bulgarian nurses
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BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union said on Tuesday it made "substantial progress" in talks with Libya this week to secure the release of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor held in Libya, but more talks were needed.
EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier spent two days in Libya lobbying on behalf of the medics, who were sentenced to death after they were found guilty of infecting Libyan children with HIV.
"Substantial progress was made; efforts will have to continue," a spokesman for the European Commission told a regular news briefing in Brussels. He said talks with the Libyans had not yet concluded, but did not elaborate. Both sides in the past have raised the prospect of a deal before the end of June.
After Ferrero-Waldner and Steinmeier left Tripoli on Monday, Libya urged U.S. President George W. Bush to stay out of the case to allow it to reach a solution with the European Union.
Bush, ending a European tour in Bulgaria, said on Monday that securing the release of the medics was a high priority for the United States.
On Sunday, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, praised EU efforts to end the stand-off on the case, which has hindered Tripoli's drive to normalize ties with the West fully.
"The outcome will be good. We hope that this is the beginning of the end of this problem," he said.
The six medics were convicted in December of deliberately infecting 426 children with HIV.
They have been held in Libya since 1999 and say they were tortured into making confessions. Some Western scientists say the six are being made scapegoats for negligence and poor hospital hygiene.
Libya has suggested it can free the nurses if an agreement is reached to pay compensation to the families of the children.
Tripoli has demanded 10 million euros ($13 million) for each infected child's family. Bulgaria and its allies have rejected this, saying it would be an admission of guilt, but have offered a fund for treatment for the children at European hospitals.
The European Union has donated 2.5 million euros ($3.34 million) to this plan.
