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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Libya
Index
During the 1980s, Libyan relations with Western Europe and the
United States have been generally strained. In the preceding
decade, however, relations were relatively cooperative. Although
the new regime required the closing of British and American
military bases in Libya in 1970, its strident anticommunism pleased
the Western powers. This policy orientation was confirmed in 1971
when Libya supported Sudanese President Numayri against an
unsuccessful leftist coup attempt. And at the 1973 conference of
the Nonaligned Movement in Algiers, Qadhafi challenged the validity
of Fidel Castro's credentials as a nonaligned leader.
Qadhafi believed that most West European nations had repudiated
their imperialist legacy by the 1970s, a conviction that paved the
way for increased trade, if not for cordial political relations.
Libyan ties with Western Europe were for the most part commercial.
The Federal Repubic of Germany, for example, was a major purchaser
of Libya's petroleum exports. Libya also purchased some military
equipment from Western Europe, notably from France. Libya developed
extensive commercial relationships with Italy and Great Britain.
Commercial ties prospered for pragmatic reasons even as Qadhafi
denounced the European Economic Community's trade relations with
Israel and with NATO bases in the Mediterranean. On only several
occasions have Libyan political considerations overridden the
economic imperative, as in 1973 when Libya joined the Arab oil
boycott that adversely affected several West European nations. For
their part, the West European nations have likewise continued to
trade with Libya despite proved Libyan involvement in terrorism on
the continent.
Data as of 1987
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