Inspect Plants in All Nations, Libya Urges : ‘We Are Ready’ if U.N. Acts on Poison Gas Issue, Envoy Says

Libya’s ambassador to the United Nations on Sunday offered an apparently new proposal for solving the dispute over a suspected chemical weapons plant, saying his government is willing to allow continuous international inspection of the facility as long as Libya is not the only country that has to submit to such monitoring.

“If there is a decision from the U.N. to inspect such plants, not only in Libya but in other countries . . . we are ready to go ahead,” Ambassador Ali Treiki said. “We are ready to talk with the United States . . . and we do hope that with the new Administration, the door will open to new cooperation.”

A U.S. official said the suggestion, made on ABC’s “This Week With David Brinkley,” could reflect a Libyan desire to solve the dispute diplomatically, but he said that Libya has still offered no suggestions that would satisfy U.S. concerns about the plant.

Talking Through Hat?

“They haven’t shown that they’re serious yet. (Treiki) may have been just talking through his hat,” said the official, who asked not to be named.

Other U.S. and European diplomats have said there are other signs that Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi hopes to solve the problem through negotiations--especially after U.S. Navy jets shot down two Libyan warplanes last week.

The Reagan Administration has charged that the plant, 40 miles southwest of the Libyan capital of Tripoli, would be the Third World’s largest chemical weapons factory if it were completed.

Libya has insisted that the plant is designed to manufacture pharmaceuticals, but it has refused to allow diplomats and reporters to inspect the interior of the facility.

Treiki’s offer marked the first time that Libya has suggested publicly that it could accept continuous inspection of the plant’s operation. Previously, the Tripoli government had offered only a one-time international inspection, an idea the United States rejected as inadequate.

However, Libya’s foreign secretary, Jaddallah Talhi, made no mention of the idea in a separate television interview, and he refused to rule out the possibility that Libya might use the plant to produce chemical weapons in the future--just as the Reagan Administration has charged.

“We have not the intention, we have no plan for the time being,” Talhi said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

But, when asked about the future, Talhi replied, “You will never know.”

He acknowledged that hints from Administration officials that the United States might mount a military strike against the plant if it goes into operation have rattled Libya’s leadership.

Admits Leaders Are Worried

“Unfortunately, our experience is a very bitter one, and we are really worried,” he said.

Administration officials have said they intend to seek a diplomatic solution to the dispute before resorting to military action, beginning with a drive to persuade other countries to block Libya’s access to the equipment, chemicals and technical help it needs to operate the plant.

The leaders of the majority and minority parties in the Senate, Sens. George Mitchell (D-Me.) and Bob Dole (R-Kan.), urged the Administration to continue on that cautious path.

Not in Best Interests

“I don’t think any preemptive strike at this time would be in the best interest of this Administration or the Bush Administration,” Dole said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“Kadafi has indicated that he wants to talk,” the GOP leader said. “Let’s try negotiations.”

But both Dole and Mitchell added that President-elect Bush should keep open the possibility of a military strike against the plant.