ROME - Switzerland and Libya are ready to end a row which has stopped Europeans entering Libya, but some conditions still must be met, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said on Wednesday after meeting his Libyan counterpart. Officials said on Monday that Libya had stopped issuing entry visas to 25 European nations in response to a Swiss entry ban on scores of Libyan officials, including Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his family. That was the latest twist in a long-running dispute between Switzerland and Libya, sparked by the brief arrest of Gaddafi's son Hannibal in Geneva in 2008. The visa ban on "Schengen" countries widened that spat to affect most of western Europe. Frattini said Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey told him by telephone on Tuesday evening that Switzerland was ready to scrap the travel ban on 186 Libyans provided that Tripoli releases two Swiss businessmen detained in 2008, in retaliation for Hannibal Gaddafi's arrest. In his meeting on Wednesday, Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa told him that Tripoli was open to this deal but first wanted Switzerland to open an investigation into the leaking to the press of photos of Hannibal Gaddafi in police custody. "My Libyan colleague told me today they have no problem with (ending the visa ban), but a key preliminary step must be the opening of an investigation into the leaking of the photos taken in a public office," Frattini told a news conference after the meeting, also attended by Maltese Foreign Minister Tonio Borg. Frattini, who strongly criticised Switzerland on Tuesday for misusing the Schengen zone's visa rules to pressure Libya, said Koussa would travel to Madrid later on Wednesday to meet Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos. Spain currently holds the European Union rotating presidency. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's center right government has forged closer ties with former Italian colony Libya, where Eni has oil investments and Italian infrastructure companies are seeking contracts. Meanwhile Italy's ties with its Alpine neighbor have been strained by a row over bank secrecy.
