The United States hopes to remove Libya's name from the list of terrorism sponsors, interim Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns said Wednesday.

Addressing the House International Relations Committee, Burns said it may be possible to open a US embassy in Tripoli this year,capping the vast improvement in ties since Libya chose to abandon weapons of mass destruction.

Washington has canceled most economic sanctions after Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi agreed in December 2003 to abandon his quest for weapons of mass destruction.

Burns' words about Libya were the latest sign Washington is also looking to remove Tripoli from the State Department's list ofstate sponsors of terrorism, which imposes limited US sanctions.

Libya's presence on the terrorism list bars it from getting US arms, controls sales of items with military and civilian applications, limits US aid and requires Washington to vote against loans from international financial institutions.

Burns said Libya had taken steps to distance itself from terrorist groups and aided the US-led war on terrorism. But he said "troubling questions remain" on an alleged Libyan plot to kill Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah.

"Although it will take hard work to resolve remaining issues, we hope Libya's actions will over time merit removal from the listof state sponsors of terrorism," he said.

"As our relationship matures, it may be possible later this year to reopen a full-fledged US embassy in Tripoli."

Source: Xinhua