Libya's prime minister, in an interview published in The New York Times, urged Washington to lift its sanctions on Libya by May 12, the deadline for Tripoli to complete compensation payments to the families of the victims of the Lockerbie disaster. Prime Minister Shukri Ghanim said the United States should act quickly to reward Libya for its decision last month to dismantle its secret weapons programs, a process his government would like to "accelerate to the maximum." Libya was under international sanctions for years over the December 1988 bombing of a US airliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie that killed 270 people. The United Nations lifted its embargo in September after Tripoli agreed to pay 2.7 billion dollars in compensation and accept responsibility for the bombing while denying any guilt. US sanctions remain in place however. Libya so far has paid four million dollars to each family of the Lockerbie victims. Under the terms of agreement, it may forgo paying the outstanding compensation payments if US sanctions are not lifted by May 12. "The agreement says that eight months after the signing, if American sanctions are not removed, then the additional six million for each family of victims will not be paid," Ghanim told The New York Times. "So of course, this would be for the good of the families of the victims, but we will leave this to the decision of the Americans," he added. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Libyan Prime Minister Shukri Ghanim, in an interview in The New York Times. (AFP/File/Ramzi Haidar)