The 10-year Lockerbie affair is not over yet, though both Kofi Annan and the Libyans are talking of considerable progress. The sounds are positive, but a deal hasn't been finalized.

Since a final deal was what Mr Annan went to Libya to achieve, the outcome must be regarded as a setback.

No-one knows yet whether the two Libyans charged with the Lockerbie bomb attack will be handed over for trial in the Netherlands.

Mr Annan did not say that Libya had accepted the precise British-American proposal for a trial under Scottish law. He declined to go into detail about the outstanding points which still have to be resolved.

However the Libyans did raise the question of where the two accused should serve their prison sentences if they were convicted.

The matter is to be discussed by the Libyan People's Congress, which begins its annual session on Tuesday.

In theory the People's Congress has the final say, but it is not clear whether this is going to be used as a reason for refusal, or as a means of giving public endorsement to a risky decision by Colonel Gadaffi to agree to a trial.