US Secretary of State Colin Powell has called the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in a bid to soothe tensions between Washington and the UN agency over Libya, diplomats said here on Saturday.
"Secretary Powell has called (IAEA chief Mohamed) ElBaradei. They have spoken," a Western diplomat told AFP. "Everyone is making an effort to be more civil. It is in everybody's interest to ratchet the rhetoric down a notch."
Another source said the conversation between ElBaradei and Powell, which took place this week, was "a constructive discussion with regard to ElBaradei's trip" to Libya.
"They were trying to make sure they understand each other's positions."
Tension has arisen between Washington and ElBaradei since IAEA staff began inspecting Libyan nuclear sites last weekend, just eight days after Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi renounced weapons of mass destruction.
ElBaradei, who travelled to Tripoli and met with Kadhafi, declared his satisfaction that Libya was cooperating with the UN atomic watchdog and allowing in-depth searches of sites.
But some senior US officials have accused the IAEA of rushing into Libya, and suggested the United States and Britain do not want to entrust the task of verifying Libyan disarmament to the IAEA alone.
The New York Times on Friday quoted an official as saying the IAEA chief's visit was "badly advised" and that ElBaradei "has (only) got a minuscule percentage of the knowledge" about the range of Libya's illicit weapons programmes.
John Bolton, the top US diplomat for arms control, began meeting with British counterparts on Friday to discuss ways to ensure that Libya keeps its pledge to abandon any quest for chemical, biological and nuclear arms.
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