ISLAMABAD, July 14 (Reuters) - Pakistan said on Sunday it welcomed a statement by Tethyan Copper expressing willingness for a negotiated settlement after a World Bank tribunal ordered the government to pay $5.8 billion in damages in a dispute over the Reko Diq copper mine.

The statement from the attorney general's office came after a World Bank arbitration court ruled in favour of Tethyan Copper, a joint venture between Chile's Antofagasta Plc and Canada's Barrick Gold, in a dispute over a lease to the mine, located in a remote area of southwestern Pakistan. (Reporting by James Mackenzie; Editing by Mark Potter)