Khaddour: Syria’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency has not stopped

Vienna (ST): The Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Ambassador Hassan Khaddour, reiterated that Syria’s cooperation with the IAEA has never stopped, and successive safeguards implementation reports testify that Syria has not delayed fulfilling its legal obligations under the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and the Non-Proliferation Treaty and that it has fulfilled all timely periodic inspection requests.

Ambassador Khaddour explained in a statement he delivered yesterday during the session of the IAEA Board of Governors for the month of June 2022 that Syria offered, within the framework of its cooperation, the utmost flexibility and seriousness to settle some outstanding issues regarding the nature of the site destroyed by the Israeli aggression in Deir Ezzour, as it allowed in June 2008 Agency inspectors to visit the site, move freely around the site, and collect environmental samples.

Khaddour said that Syria answered all the inquiries they raised, which culminated in an agreement with the Agency on an action plan that was reached during the meeting that was held in Damascus in October 2011 with the Deputy Director-General for Safeguards Affairs at the Agency at the time. The path of confusion, which some well-known member states have persistently pursued, has impeded the implementation of this endeavor. In this regard, I would like to stress that Syria has been and will remain committed to full and constructive cooperation with the Agency in accordance with its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement signed with the Agency.

On the other hand, Ambassador Khaddour stressed that Israel’s aggressive behavior in the region and its survival with its nuclear capabilities outside the framework of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the Agency represents a grave danger to the non-proliferation regime, as (Israel) exploits the conditions and situations in the region and repeatedly causes significant damage to civilians and military personnel.

Khaddour indicated that Israel’s rejection of all initiatives calling for the establishment of a zone free of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East makes it a threat to security and stability in the region and in light of all this, (Israel) is not qualified to talk about cases of non-compliance with the treaty or adherence to international standards that it violates every day.

K.Q.