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bashar-al-jaafari

Syria’s permanent representative to the UN Bashar al-Jaafari on Tuesday stressed Syria’s support for the international tendency towards establishing an international community that is free of force or the threat of using it whether it is nuclear or traditional, calling for pressuring Israel to join the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT).

In a speech before the first committee of the 68th session of the UN General Assembly in its meeting on nuclear weapons, al-Jaafari said “We stress that getting rid of nuclear weapons completely is the only guarantee for not using or threatening of using them.”

He pointed out that after more than four decades of the signing of Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), it is important that the nuclear countries comply with the sixth article of the Treaty seriously in order to spare the world this danger.

Al-Jaafari stressed that what has been issued after 2010 Review of the NPT regarding establishing a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East based on the decision of Review Conference of 1995, makes it imperative for the international community to work for this objective in light of the importance of pressuring Israel into joining the Treaty.

He highlighted the need of forcing Israel to put all its nuclear facilities under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) according to Security Council resolution No. 487 for 1981 and IAEA resolution No. 17 for 2009.

The Syrian diplomat said that Israel is not a party in any treaties or agreements that control the issue of the proliferation of mass destruction weapons, including NPT.

Al-Jaafari said that European states contributed actively in Israel’s nuclear program, and since then, Israel has been maintaining the policy of ‘nuclear ambiguity’, yet according to the estimations of Dimona Reactor’s capacity, Israel has produced more than 840 kilo grams of uranium for military use, an amount enough for manufacturing 200 nuclear warheads.

“For those who do not know, Israel carries out drilling works for nuclear materials in several phosphate wells… in Naqab area,” added al-Jaafari, citing a number of these wells and other sites where Israel conducts nuclear researches and produces nuclear materials.

The Syrian ambassador said that most of the countries were aspiring for the convening and success of the conference on establishing a zone free of nuclear and mass destruction weapons in the Middle East, which was due to be held at the end of 2012 in Helsinki, Finland, yet Israel’s declaration of not participating in IAEA International Conference in September, 2012 aborted it.

He underscored the importance of holding this longed-for conference as soon as possible and the necessity of pressuring Israel to participate in it, being the only part possessing nuclear weapons in the region.

“At the time when we in Syria stress on the inalienable right of the states which are parties in the NPT to obtaining nuclear technology, developing and using it for peaceful use in cooperation with the IAEA according to provisions of the article four in the Treaty, some member states try to interpret the text of the Treaty in a way that detracts from this right or restricts it,” said al-Jaafari.

He highlighted that many member states stressed in their statements before the first committee of this session the importance of the step taken by Syria in joining the Chemical Weapons Convention, considering it as an introduction for establishing a Middle East nuclear and mass destruction weapons free zone.

He added that these stances in support of Syria’s move constitute an overt message to Israel and those behind it that the policy of ‘nuclear ambiguity’ has been exposed to all, and it could not be tolerated anymore.

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New York – SANA – R. Milhem / H. Said – October 23, 2013

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