United Against Libya: The world has taken note of the plight of the Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian doctor accused of infecting Libyan children with HIV. Both Europe and the U.S. are pressuring the Libyan government to set them free:

But it is known that Gadhafi badly wants to continue improving his relations with the West - and especially seeks the opening of a U.S. Embassy in Tripoli.

Last month, President Bush warned: 'There should be no confusion in the Libyan government's mind that those nurses ought to be not only spared ... but out of prison.'

U.S. officials made clear again Tuesday that the nurses' case is a key sticking point that must be resolved before the United States will reopen a U.S. Embassy. Other human rights and terrorism issues also remain, said State Department spokesman Adam Ereli.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso also has said relations with Libya hinge on the nurses' fate.