Libya has agreed to allow snap UN nuclear arms inspections, just a day after declaring it was giving up plans to build an atomic bomb, a Western diplomat said on Sunday.Libya told the head of the UN nuclear watchdog on Saturday that it was ready to sign up to inspections. The surprise moves, which could lead to the end of US sanctions and the return of American oil companies, mark an about-face for Muammar Gaddafi, Libyan leader for 34 years. ‘‘We are turning our swords into ploughshares and this step should be appreciated and followed by all other countries,’’ Libyan PM Shokri Ghanem said of Friday’s statement, adding that economic progress was more important than arms.But Britain, which played a key role in talks that persuaded Tripoli to abandon its arms ambitions, said the fate that befell Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein may have prompted the move. Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon suggested the fortunes of the Iraqi leader might have been different had Baghdad been more forthcoming over arms. ‘‘We showed after Saddam Hussein failed to cooperate with the United Nations that we meant business and Libya, and I hope other countries, will draw that lesson,’’ he told Sky TV.US intelligence officials said Gaddafi seemed to be the driving force behind Libya’s decision, and his motivation may have ranged from concerns about the Iraq war and a desire to end isolation, to concerns about domestic threats to his own rule.Tripoli acted swiftly to show it was serious. A top official met the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna on Saturday to discuss its proposals to accept stricter IAEA nuclear safeguards. The Vienna-based Western diplomat said that Libya told Mohammed El Baradei it would open its atomic facilities to unannounced inspections, a deal going beyond the basic demands of the main arms control treaty.Libya is a signatory to the nuclear NPT but said it was now willing to sign the treaty’s Additional Protocol, which allows far more intrusive checks. —(Reuters)
