UTA bomb: Chirac presses Gadhafi
By CNN's Chris Burns
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170 people were killed when the French UTA DC-10 was blown up over Africa in 1989.
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PARIS, France (CNN) -- French President Jacques Chirac has telephoned Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, pressing for a new settlement for the families of 170 people killed in the 1989 bombing of a French UTA jetliner.
The move came after representatives of the families failed to reach an agreement with Tripoli.
Using the case as leverage, Paris has threatened to hold up a settlement for the victims of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie by threatening to veto a proposed U.N. Security Council resolution that would lift sanctions against Libya in exchange for a $2.7 billion settlement.
Chirac called Gadhafi "to tell him how important it is to France to settle this problem that's particularly painful for the families of the victims," a French Foreign Ministry statement said Sunday night.
French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin has informed U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell of the situation, the ministry said, adding the foreign minister was expected to contact British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw Monday. The United States and Britain are Security Council members.
France last week persuaded the council to put off the vote for a few days as negotiations continued in the UTA jetliner case. (Full story)
UTA families, backed by the French government, have demanded a settlement similar to the $10 million per victim of Flight 103.
Up to now, the UTA relatives have received a maximum of $33,000 each, under a $35 million settlement reached in 1999.
UTA families' representatives returned to Paris Sunday after three days of marathon talks in Tripoli with the Gadhafi Foundation, an NGO led by a son of the Libyan leader.
The representatives said the talks had broken off, but noted progress was made and said it was now up to the Libyans to make the next move.
