By Peter Biles BBC World Affairs correspondent

A meeting between Gaddafi and Blair could be on the cards

The visit to London on Tuesday by the Libyan Foreign Minister, Abdul Rahman Mohammed Shalgam, is being hailed by the British government as a milestone in the steadily improving relations between Libya and Britain.

It is the latest step in a carefully choreographed sequence of events that began last March with secret negotiations between Libyan, British and American officials about Libya's weapons programmes.

"This shows that you can get somewhere by dialogue, rather than confrontation", said Edward Chaplin, Head of the Middle East & North Africa Section of the Foreign Office in London.

Britain restored diplomatic ties with Libya in 1999 when the two Libyans accused of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing were handed over for trial.

But Mr Shalgam's meetings with Tony Blair and the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, represent the first cabinet-level contact in more than 20 years.

Expectation

Colonel Muammar Gaddafi may have a long-established reputation for being a maverick, but a senior British official says the Libyan leader has done everything he promised over the last 18 months.

"We've gradually seen the pieces of the jigsaw falling into place".

Although the Foreign Office will not confirm any future plans, the clear expectation is that the Anglo-Libyan rapprochement will culminate in a meeting between Tony Blair and Colonel Gaddafi, perhaps within the next six months.

Britain, however, still has problems with Libya over the fatal shooting of woman police constable Yvonne Fletcher outside the Libyan People's Bureau in London in 1984.

The shots were thought to have come from inside the embassy building, but the British police investigation is still incomplete, and Libya's co-operation has been limited.

Allies

Libya is nevertheless clearly intent on re-entering the mainstream of international affairs after years of isolation.

Tripoli has opened its doors to international weapons inspectors, as part of the process of getting rid of weapons of mass destruction.

The big question is whether the US invasion of Iraq pushed Colonel Gaddafi into this new relationship with the West

Now political contacts are being strengthened.

The Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, will be the first major Western leader to go to Tripoli since Colonel Gaddafi announced he was giving up WMD when he visits Libya on Tuesday.

Libya is also eyeing Malta as an ally when the Mediterranean island joins the European Union in May.

The EU has lifted most of its sanctions against Libya, but an arms embargo remains in force.

Some EU members have expressed concern about a high-profile human rights trial in Libya.

Six Bulgarian medics and one Palestinian have been held in Benghazi for the past five years, accused of intentionally infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV.

Libya had originally claimed that the foreign doctors and nurses had been part of a plot inspired by the CIA and the Israeli secret service, Mossad.

Dialogue

A verdict is expected shortly, but Libya's handling of the case is being seen an important test of the country's commitment to reform.

The United States is closely watching Libya's actions on WMD and human rights.

Libya is hoping that Washington will soon lift its sanctions and remove Libya from the US State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism.

In the latest political dialogue, US, British and Libyan officials met in London last week.

The big question is whether the US invasion of Iraq pushed Colonel Gaddafi into this new relationship with the West.

Diplomats say it was possible, but they believe the Libyan leader took a strategic decision much earlier.