Libya 'chose not to' make WMD
2004-02-11 09:17
London - Libya had all the means to make weapons of mass destruction but chose not to, Foreign Minister Abdel Rahman Shalgam said Tuesday during a landmark visit to London.
"We never decided to produce such weapons," Shalgam said.
"We have had the equipment, we have had the material and the know-how and the scientists. We never decided to produce such weapons," Shalgam said during a press conference alongside British Foreign Minister Jack Straw.
Tripoli announced on December 19 that it was abandoning its weapons of mass destruction programme, following months of secret talks with Britain and the United States.
"To have flour, water and fire doesn't mean you have bread," Shalgam said.
"It wasn't imposed on us. We want the Americans, we want the British to help us. That's more beneficial to us (than making weapons of mass destruction)," he said.
For his part, Straw praised Libya's decision as a "courageous step" and said it had paved the way for the former pariah state to rejoin the international community.
"The announcement opened the way for Libya's reintegration into the international community," Straw said.
"It showed too that problems of proliferation can with good will be tackled through discussion and engagement," he said.
"These decisions should benefit the whole region and make the world a very much safer place," he said, adding that "good progress" was being made on moves to dismantle Libya's programme following the December announcement.
Shalgam's visit to London is the first by a Libyan foreign minister since 1969.