Syria renews its call for forcing Israel to join the NPT

Syria has renewed its call on the international community to make a clear decision and take decisive measures to force Israel to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and to unconditionally put all its nuclear facilities to the inspection of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) without any conditions.

“Syria believes that it is time for the international community to stand against the policy of ignoring the dangerous Israeli practices and to take practical steps that force Israel to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and put all its facilities to the IAEA’s inspection,” Syria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna Hasan Khaddour said in a statement on Friday before the IAEA’s Board of Governors.

He clarified that “no practical step has been taken to establish a nuclear weapon-free zone in the Middle East since 1995, when the NPT Review Conference adopted the resolution on the Middle East”.

He pointed out that Israel’s refusal to join the NPT indicates its insistence on giving no heed to the all-out international and regional will to make the Middle East free of nuclear arms and all weapons of mass destruction.

Washington biased towards Israel

He condemned the US bias towards Israel and the US double stranded policy regarding the proliferation of the weapons of mass destruction, clarifying that “the United States is an NPT depositary state that shows interest and enthusiasm regarding the non-proliferation of mass destruction weapons issues, but when it comes to Israel’s nuclear and chemical arsenal, this enthusiasm disappears and turns into attempts to create justifications and pretexts.”

Khaddour went on to say that instead of strongly condemning the Israeli aggression on a Syrian area in Deir Ezzor province in September, 2007 as a blatant violation of the international law, some parties used this aggression as a platform to attack Syria and distort its image, to besiege the country and put political pressure on it.

“Israel’s late official acknowledgment of its responsibility for this aggression on Syria necessitates that it must cooperate with the IAEA to detect the truth about the pollution caused by its missiles, reiterating that any discussion of this issue will remain in vain unless “Israel”, the aggressor force, cooperates with the agency.

Israel’s nuclear capabilities pose a serious threat to security and stability in the Middle East

He stressed that Israel’s aggressive behavior in the region and keeping its nuclear capabilities out of the framework of the NPT and the comprehensive safeguards agreement with the IAEA, endanger the non-proliferation system, given the fact that Israel continues to exploit the current situation in the region to repeatedly attack Syria and cause human losses and material damage.

He pointed out that Israel’s rejection of all the initiatives that call for creating a zone free of nuclear arms and mass destruction weapons in the Middle Eat makes this entity a serious threat to this region’s security and stability.

“In the light of these facts, Israel is absolutely unqualified to talk about cases of non-compliance with the NPT or non- commitment to the international standards which it violates every day,” Khaddour pointed out.

Syria’s cooperation with IAEA has never stopped

He emphasized that Syria’s cooperation with the IAEA has never stopped, and the successive reports on implementing the safeguards prove that Syria has fulfilled its legal obligations under the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and the Non-Proliferation Treaty and that it has responded to all requests for periodic inspection on time.

Regarding Israel’s nuclear capabilities, Khaddour said that “Israel has for decades been consolidating its military nuclear capabilities secretly and away from any international control means. In addition, some western countries supplied Israel with Dimona reactor, which produces nuclear weapons, and with the nuclear materials and technology that enabled it to possess a huge arsenal of nuclear warheads.”

Hamda Mustafa