Washington: US President George W Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have announced that Libyan leader Moamer Ghadafi, after nine months of secret talks, has agreed to destroy all weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and abandon all programmes to develop them.

Acknowledging the agreement, Ghadafi said in Tripoli that his country has taken a "wise decision and a courageous step to get rid of all weapons of mass destruction and to accept international inspections to ensure that neither the weapons nor programs to develop and use them will continue".

Official Libyan news agency JANA quoted Foreign Minister Abdel Rahman Shalqam as saying Libya acted of "its own free will" in order to serve as an inspiration for the rest of the world.

Earlier in a nationwide broadcast last evening (Dec 19, 2003), Bush commended Gadhafi's "wise, responsible and constructive" example to other nations.

"With today's announcement, Libya has begun the process of rejoining the community of nations. And Colonel Ghadafi knows the way forward," Bush said.

As Libya becomes a more peaceful nation, it can be a source of stability in Africa and the Middle East, he said. A senior US Administration official said that Libya's most significant acknowledgement was that it had a programme intended to enrich uranium for use in nuclear weapons.

Making a similar announcement, British Prime Minister Tony Blair in a statement in Durham in Northeast England termed the decision as "historic".

Blair said the decision "will make the region and the world more secure. It shows that problems of proliferation can, with goodwill, be tackled through discussion and engagement, to be followed up by the responsible international agencies".

Ghadafi had confirmed that Libya, in the past, had sought to develop WMD capabilities and has now declared its intention "to limit the range of Libyan missiles to no greater than 300 kms", he said.

Nine months of work followed with experts from the US and UK, during which the Libyans discussed their programmes with them. As a result, Libya has now declared its intention to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction and to limit the range of Libyan missiles to no greater than 300 kms, in accordance with the parameters set by the Missile Technology Control Regime.

The Libyan Government has undertaken that this process will be transparent and verifiable. It will immediately adhere to the Chemical Weapons Convention and declare all nuclear activities to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). It will also adhere to the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty, and sign the Additional Protocol.

"We have offered our support to Libya in presenting its programmes to these international bodies and are prepared to offer assistance with dismantlement," Blair added.

Elaborating on the inspections, Bush said Ghadafi has agreed to immediately and unconditionally allow inspectors from international organizations to enter Libya.

"These inspectors will render an accounting of all nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programmes and will help oversee their elimination."

PTI