Britain hails Libyan decision
2003-12-20 16:17
London - Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi showed "huge statesmanship" in volunteering to give up nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs, British foreign secretary Jack Straw said on Saturday.
Straw said Friday's surprise announcement had been the result of years of "painstaking diplomacy" to bring Libya in from the diplomatic cold, and indicated the United States would likely lift its sanctions against the north African state.
In the decision announced on Friday by Libya, the United States and Britain, Libya agreed to disclose all its weapons of mass destruction and related programs and to open the country to international weapons inspectors to oversee their elimination.
Gadhafi said his country had taken "a wise decision and a courageous step." Libya insisted it has acted of "its own free will" and had not bowed to US and British pressure.
"This is an initiative taken by Col Gadhafi and he needs to be applauded in unqualified terms for what he has done," Straw told British Broadcasting Corp radio.
"He has shown huge statesmanship in doing this ... You judge people on their conduct and, knowing as I do the course of these negotiations, I believe that it is both very statesmanlike and courageous, the steps that he and his government have taken."
Straw said the announcement had been "a result of painstaking diplomacy over many months ... but going back for six or seven years where we had sought to re-establish a diplomatic relationship with Libya."
Britain restored diplomatic relations with Libya in 1999 after a 15-year hiatus and has been involved in negotiations to end the country's international isolation.
The UN Security Council ended sanctions against Libya on September 12 after Gadhafi's government took responsibility for the bombing of a Pan Am jet over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988 and agreed to pay US$2.7bn to the victims' families.
But the United States has retained its own 17-year embargo and has kept Libya on the list of nations that sponsor terrorism.
"The United States is looking forward to an entirely new approach and relationship with Libya," Straw said. On sanctions, he said: "I would expect them to be lifted, I can't say exactly when."
- AP