Libya agrees to 'snap' weapons inspections

Libya will allow snap inspections to prove it has abandoned its nuclear weapons programme, Prime Minister Shokri Ghanem said today.

The country has agreed to abide by the rules of the UN nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Authority, Mr Ghanem said.

“We are pleased with the commitment we are making to the IAEA and we are willing to abide by its rules and honour our commitments,” he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

“It is the IAEA rules and procedures that will decide how much we are applying what we said and that we mean what we say and honour our commitments.”

Talks with the IAEA came at the weekend, after Libya announced it was scrapping its weapons of mass destruction programme.

The move followed secret negotiations with the US and the UK.

Agreement on inspections was reached on Saturday between a high-level delegation from Libya and the head of the Vienna-based IAEA, Mohammed ElBaradei.

Libya is already a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

However, the new protocol allows for tougher, short-notice visits of nuclear sites by IAEA experts.

Mr Ghanem called on Israel to abandon its nuclear weapons programme.

“The Middle East... should be free from weapons of mass destruction and that is what Israel should be,” he said.