US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, left, listens to Libyan Foreign Minister Abd al-Rahman Shalgham during a joint press conference after her meeting with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli, Libya, Friday, Sept. 5, 2008. [Agencies] |
Ruined Compound
Gaddafi, wearing a white robe and a green brooch in the shape of Africa, did not shake hands with Rice but put his right hand over his heart. By Muslim tradition, men should avoid contact with females during the fasting time.
The compound where they met includes his former home, which has been kept in ruins since it was bombed by US jets in 1986. The US strike, which killed about 40 people including an adopted daughter of Gaddafi, marked one of the lowest points in the decades of enmity between the two nations.
"This demonstrates that the US doesn't have permanent enemies," Rice said of her visit.
"It demonstrates that when countries are prepared to make strategic changes in direction, the United States is prepared to respond. Quite frankly I never thought I would be visiting Libya and so it is quite something," she said.
John Foster Dulles was the last US Secretary of State to visit Tripoli -- in May 1953, before Rice was born.
Before her meeting with Gaddafi, Rice and Shalgam discussed cooperation in various fields, especially in oil and in education, Libya's official Jana news agency reported.
Gaddafi, once called "the mad dog of the Middle East" by US President Ronald Reagan, has in the past expressed admiration for Rice.
"I support my darling black African woman," he told Al Jazeera TV station last year. "I admire and am very proud of the way she leans back and gives orders to the Arab leaders."
