UN nuclear watchdog agency, US and UK agree on next steps to disarm Libya

The United Nations nuclear watchdog agency agreed today with the United States and the United Kingdom that it will verify Libya is free of weapons of mass destruction while those two countries will remove "sensitive" equipment and material.

The agreement was reached in a meeting between Mohamed ElBaradei, the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and US Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and Nuclear Proliferation John Bolton and his UK counterpart, William Ehrman, to coordinate their efforts in implementing Libya's decision to abandon any nuclear-weapons-related programme and activities.

Following the talks, Mr. ElBaradei called the meeting in Vienna "constructive" and indicated that the sides had "reached agreement on what needs to be done."

"The Agency's role is very clear," he said. "We will perform our verification responsibilities under the NPT [Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty], while the UK and USA will undertake, in this regard, certain logistical activities."

Those actions would relate "to the movement of equipment, material and other sensitive items outside the country," the IAEA Chief explained.

"Verification and logistical work need to be performed in a coordinated manner and the meeting today is an important step forward to achieve that," Mr. ElBaradei added.

With all sides agreeing on the importance of moving quickly, the Agency said it expects to field a team of inspectors to Libya this week.