Associated Press

Washington, May 16: The US said on Monday it is restoring normal diplomatic relations with Libya for the first time in over a quarter century after removing Moammar Gadhafi's regime from a list of state sponsors of terrorism.

"We are taking these actions in recognition of Libya's continued commitment to its renunciation of terrorism,'' Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a statement.

She said Tripoli's cooperation in combating international terrorism has been ''excellent.''

The US has not had formal diplomat relations with Libya since 1980, although a thaw in long-standing hostility enabled Washington to open a diplomatic office in Libya in 2004.

The move announced Monday culminates a process that began three years ago, when Gadhafi surprised the world by agreeing to dismantle his country's weapons of mass destruction programs.

"As a direct result of those decisions we have witnessed the beginning of that country's re-emergence into the mainstream of the international community. Today marks the opening of a new era in US-Libya relations that will benefit Americans and Libyans alike,'' Rice said.

Assistant Secretary of State David Welch said, "This is not a decision that we arrived at without carefully monitoring and assessing Libya's behavior.''

Libyan Foreign Minister Abdurrahman Shalgham told The Associated Press the move was not a surprise.

"It was a result of contacts and negotiations. It is not unilateral. It is a result of mutual interests, agreements and understandings,'' he said.

"In politics there is no such thing as a reward but there are interests,'' Shalgham said when asked if the restoration of ties was an incentive to Libya to further cooperate with the US.

Libya was held responsible for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 in 1988, which claimed 270 lives, most of them American.