(Adds Rice statement, Bulgarian president's call to Bush) By Sue Pleming WASHINGTON, July 24 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice applauded on Tuesday Libya's decision to free six foreign medics and said it opened a path to better relations between Tripoli and the West. "The United States had repeatedly urged Libya to find a way to allow the medics to return home. This is an important step in Libya's continuing positive re-engagement with the international community," Rice said in a statement. The five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor, who were convicted of infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV, returned to Bulgaria on Tuesday after a deal between Tripoli and the European Union ended their eight-year ordeal. "We applaud today's decision," said Rice, who spoke to Bulgaria's foreign minister soon after the six arrived home. The Palestinian doctor recently took Bulgarian citizenship. Bulgaria's President Georgi Parvanov called U.S. President George W. Bush to thank him for U.S. help in securing the return of the six, White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. The case had held back Libya's full resumption of normal relations with the United States even though ties had dramatically improved between the two countries since Tripoli gave up weapons of mass destruction in 2003. "This was a constant reminder that Libya does not play by the same rules," said Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. "Having this out of the way means that one can deal with Libya merely as a difficult government and not a delusional one," he added. Rice spokesman Sean McCormack said the top U.S. diplomat had raised the issue of the medics in every meeting she had with the Libyans. The six medics had always said they were innocent, and foreign HIV experts said the infections were most likely the result of poor hygiene. UNRESOLVED ISSUES When it became clear that the medics' case would soon be resolved, U.S. President George W. Bush this month nominated a U.S. ambassador to Libya. There are still other unresolved issues between the two countries, including compensation for U.S. relatives of victims of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland. "We want to see the right thing done by American citizens. Ultimately though, the outcome of those discussions is going to be dependent on the Libyan government and the representatives of those families," said McCormack. Libya has been pushing for a visit by Rice to Tripoli, which would be an obvious sign of improved ties between the two countries. "She will take a look at when is the right time to take a visit there," said McCormack. The United States helped establish a fund for the HIV victims from the case as part of an international incentive to get the Libyan government to free the foreign medics. Last week Libya commuted the death sentences against the six to life imprisonment following the payment of a $460 million financial settlement -- $1 million to each HIV victim's family. The State Department said Washington had given $300,000 to Houston-based Baylor College of Medicine for a pediatric AIDS program it ran in Libya. "We remain concerned about these young victims and will continue our support for their treatment," said Rice.
