Libya: Responsible for Pam Am 103 bomb

TRIPOLI, Libya, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- One day after Libya said it "bought peace" over the bombing of Pam Am Flight 103, it reaffirmed responsibility for the terrorist action.

Libya's Foreign Minister Abdul Rahman Mohammed Shalgam made Libya's position clear in a new statement, the BBC reported.

The clarification became necessary after Prime Minister Shukri Ghanem told the BBC Tuesday Libya had bought peace rather than accepted blame for the terrorist action, angering the United States and Britain.

"We feel that we bought peace," Ghanem said. "After the sanctions and after the problems we faced because of the sanctions, the loss of money, we thought it was easier for us to buy peace and this is why we agreed on compensation."

The United States demanded a retraction and said it would delay plans to lift U.S. travel restrictions on Libya that had been scheduled for Tuesday, the BBC said.

Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi had agreed to dismantle weapons of mass destruction and last August, Libya agreed to pay $2.7 billion to the families of the 270 people killed when Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up over the Scottish town of Lockerbie 15 years ago.