Bulgaria and Libya agreed on Saturday to establish a EUR 4.4 billion fund for families of children infected with HIV in Libya. "The two sides reached an accord to pay 10 million (euros) for each of the 426 HIV-infected children and 20 mothers who are also contaminated with HIV," Reuters quoted Driss Lagha, chairman of the Association for the Families of the HIV-Infected Children as saying.
The agency reported that the deal is likely to defuse a standoff over five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor who have been convicted in Libya of infecting children with HIV.
On his part, Bulgarian Foreign Ministry spokesman Dimitar Tsanchev conveyed that no governmental officials have taken part in the meetings in Libya, Sofia News Agency said.
