Libya has asked for normalised relations with the EU in negotiations on the release of the six Bulgarian medics sentenced to life imprisonment for deliberate HIV infection of more than 400 children, an official source in Libya said.

A French diplomat, who has been involved in the discussions, said that the main obstacle in the negotiations was still money, and not diplomatic recognition.

The Libyans were waiting for more foreign cash, and the EU refuses to pay compensation that might suggest an admission of the medics’ guilt, the diplomat said, as quoted by Reuters.

Libyan officials had asked the EU to contribute more money for the modernisation of a health centre in Benghazi, where the infected children could be treated. The money would also help pay for their treatment abroad if necessary.

Bulgaria and the EU maintain that the nurses are innocent, but they have provided long-term medical assistance to the victims of HIV infection, as well as financing for the Benghazi hospital.