TRIPOLI, 21 December 2003 — Libya has acknowledged attempts to develop nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and pledged to renounce them, in a surprise move Washington and London welcomed as a historic step forward for the internationally isolated country.

In announcements late Friday, President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair said Libyan leader Col. Muammar Qaddafi had agreed, after nine months of secret diplomacy, to renounce all weapons of mass destruction and “immediately and unconditionally” welcome international inspectors.

The news came just two days before the 15th anniversary of the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, which was carried out by Libyan agents and turned the North African state into a virtual pariah country in the West.

Bush praised the move as beneficial to world peace and the security of the United States and said Libya had begun “the process of rejoining the community of nations.”

Blair called the renunciation “courageous and historic.” “This evening Col. Qaddafi has confirmed that Libya has in the past sought to develop WMD capabilities, as well as longer range missiles,” Blair said on television. “As a result, Libya has now declared its intention to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction completely.”

Libya also confirmed it would go about dismantling its program in a “transparent and verifiable” manner.

US and British officials visited Libyan weapons production sites in October and December, and viewed chemical weapons and signs of a relatively advanced nuclear program, US officials said.

The visits came after Libya initiated secret trilateral talks in March, just as London and Washington were going to war against Iraq’s Saddam Hussein — to forcibly disarm the Iraqi leader of his alleged weapons of mass destruction despite opposition from the United Nations.

“Libya will henceforth lead countries working toward ridding the world of weapons of mass destruction,” Qaddafi said after Tripoli issued a low-key statement Friday renouncing chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.

Qaddafi said the move heralded “a key role (for Libya) in building a world free of terrorism, of all these weapons, a world at peace and in development.”

In the statement, Libya admitted that “it tried to develop its defensive capabilities when its calls to make the Middle East and Africa zones exempt from all weapons of mass destruction went unheeded.”

“Libya reaffirms its commitment to all conventions, including the addendum protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and declares itself ready to welcome any international inspection mission,” it said, referring to a key add-on to the treaty which would allow unannounced inspections.

France, Japan and China all welcomed the Tripoli bombshell, with the Chinese Foreign Ministry calling “strengthened international dialogue and cooperation... an efficient way of solving non-proliferation issues, and it supports in this respect.”

“It clearly proves that diplomacy can win over proliferation of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons,” said European Union Foreign Policy chief Javier Solana. “The step taken by the Libyan leader, Muammar Qaddafi, should be an example to follow by others.”

“The Libyan position confirms the importance of pressuring Israel to comply with all laws banning nuclear proliferation,” said Arab League head Amr Moussa.

“This event once again confirms the effectiveness of political and diplomatic efforts to find ways to solve complicated international problems,” said Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov. “France acclaims the diplomatic efforts of Britain and the United States,” said French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin “We are strong when the international community moves forward united.”

“The German government welcomes Libya’s intention to renounce weapons of mass destruction and allow international inspectors to monitor measures taken to disarm them,” said German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer.