ROME, June 11 (RIA Novosti) - Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi used an official visit to Italy on Thursday to speak out against terrorism and blast U.S. foreign policy, comparing the country to Osama bin Laden.
"We are against terrorism and are condemning it," he said, adding that in order to understand terrorism the international community should "hold a dialogue even with the devil."
Turning his attention to U.S. foreign policy, Qaddafi asked: "What is the difference between Americans' attack on our homes in 1986 and the terrorist activities of bin Laden?"
"While bin Laden has no country and is beyond the law, the United States is a country, which acts in line with international regulations," he said.
Libya was bombed by U.S. planes in 1986 after then-President Ronald Reagan ordered the strikes in retaliation for the country's alleged involvement in a bombing of a nightclub in Berlin. Two U.S. soldiers and a Turkish woman lost their lives in the nightclub blast.
The country was later accused of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which blew up over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988, killing 270 people. Libya formally accepted responsibility for the blast in 2003.
Qaddafi also denounced U.S. policy in Iraq, saying this was responsible for turning the country into an active battlefield for al-Qaeda militants.
"Iraq was a fortress against terrorism. Al-Qaeda was simply unable to get there under Saddam Hussein. Today, thanks to the United States, it is an open arena for al-Qaeda," the Libyan leader said.
