Kuwait calls for nuclear weapon-free Middle East

VIENNA, Sept 29 (KUNA) -- The State of Kuwait on Thursday reiterated the call for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to exercise its mandate and implement the nuclear safeguards in the Middle East region.
The Agency is the sole organization entitled to verify the commitment of states to the nuclear safeguards and ensure denuclearization of the Middle East, said Talal Al-Fasam - the representative of Kuwait's Foreign Ministry at a discussion of the Israeli nuclear capabilities.
The discussion was held on the margins of the 60th IAEA General Conference.
With regret Kuwait notes that all countries of the region abide by the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) while Israel persists in refusing to join the treaty and refuses to open its nuclear installation to IAEA inspectors, he said.
The Israeli stance constitutes a serious challenge and great impediment to the efforts aiming to denuclearize the region, said Al-Fasam, an advisor of the international organizations dept. of the Foreign Ministry.
He recalled the various denuclearization initiatives, including the outcomes of the 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
Despite the efforts, made by the Arab countries over the last five years to lobby for Helsinki Conference on a Middle East WMD-free zone, the region is far away for being declared free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
The planned conference was repeatedly postponed due to unilateral decisions in favor of Israel which is not a party to the NPT, he regretted. (end) amg.gb