Senior US State Department official Jeffrey Feltman was in Tripoli for talks with Libya’s new leaders Wednesday as ousted strongman Muammar Gaddafi’s son Saadi was put under guard in neighbouring Niger. Feltman, the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, is the highest ranking US official to visit the Libyan capital since its capture from Muammar Gaddafi’s forces on August 23.
“Mr Feltman is here and is scheduled to meet (National Transitional Council) chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil,” NTC spokesman Mahmud Shammam said.
A US advance team headed by embassy number two Joan Polaschik arrived in Tripoli on Saturday to make preliminary contacts, and assess the material condition and security of the embassy, the State Department said on Monday. The team reported that “the water situation, the electricity situation, essential services, do seem to be coming back to normal,” spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. Reopening the US diplomatic mission with ambassador Gene Cretz at the helm should be a question of weeks not months, Nuland added.
