TRIPOLI, June 11 (Reuters) - Libya urged U.S. President George W. Bush on Monday to stay out of the case of six foreign medics sentenced to death for infecting Libyan children with HIV and allow Tripoli to reach a solution with the European Union. "We hope that Bush and others will leave us to continue negotiations with the concerned parties so as to find a solution to this crisis," Abdelati Labidi, Libya's junior foreign minister, told reporters. Bush, ending a European tour in Bulgaria, said securing the release of five Bulgarian nurses -- who with a Palestinian doctor have been convicted in the case -- was a high priority for the United States. Bush spoke on Monday after EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier held talks in Libya. They left Libya on Monday without commenting on the outcome of meetings with government officials in Tripoli who have said they fear Bush's intervention could hurt negotiations with the EU. On Sunday, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, praised the EU's efforts to end the stand-off on the case which has hindered Tripoli's drive to normalise ties with the West fully. "The outcome will be good. We hope that this is the beginning of the end of this problem," said Islam, who has been a regular participant in talks between the EU and the families of the infected children. The six medics were convicted in December of deliberately infecting 426 children with HIV. The medics say they are innocent and were tortured into making confessions. The United States and the European Union have stepped up pressure on Tripoli to release them. Ferrero-Waldner and Steinmeier visited some of the infected children at a Benghazi hospital and met some of the families during their visit. Some Western scientists say the six are being made scapegoats for negligence and poor hospital hygiene. Libya has suggested it can free the nurses if an agreement is reached to pay compensation to the families of the children. Tripoli has demanded 10 million euros ($13 million) for each infected child's family. Bulgaria and its allies have rejected this, saying it would be an admission of guilt, but have offered a fund for treatment for the children at European hospitals.
