The European Union's (EU) Portuguese presidency Tuesday welcomed the return of Bulgarian medics from Libya, acknowledging the Libyan authorities' "constructive" attitude on the matter.
The EU "would like to express its most sincere appreciation for all the efforts taken by all of those involved in finding a solution on the basis of human solidarity on this issue," the Portuguese presidency said in a statement.
"The EU Presidency acknowledges the potential of increased EU-Libya cooperation in many areas of common interest and reiterates the EU's commitment to work on the framework of future EU-Libya relations," said the statement.
The five Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor arrived in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia early Tuesday.
They were accused of infecting 426 children with HIV while they were working at Al-Fateh hospital in Benghazi, Libya's seaside city on the Mediterranean. More than 50 have since died.
But they have insisted on their innocence and said that they confessed under torture.
On July 17, Libya's High Judicial Council commuted the death sentences against the six to life imprisonment.
Also on Tuesday, EU Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, said Libya's decision to transfer foreign medics to Bulgaria would open the way for better relations between the EU and the African country.
"This decision will open the way for a new and enhanced relationship between the EU and Libya and reinforce our ties with the Mediterranean region and the whole of Africa," she said in a statement.
Source: Xinhua
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