NPT meet agrees on steps on nuke-free Mideast
Sunday, 30 May 2010
UNITED NATIONS, May 29 (AFP): In a breakthrough after a decade of deadlock, the Non-Proliferation Treaty's (NPT)189 nations proposed new steps Friday towards nuclear disarmament and making the Middle East free of atomic weapons.
It was the first agreement in 10 years on the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which since 1970 has set the global agenda for fighting the spread of nuclear weapons.
Diplomats at an NPT review conference approved by consensus a 28-page final document that for the first time laid out action plans on the three pillars of the treaty -- disarmament, non-proliferation and promoting peaceful atomic energy.
The most controversial item was a fourth action plan, on working towards a Middle East free of nuclear weapons, a move that would in the end require a profound strategic re-orientation in this highly volatile region.
US President Barack Obama welcomed the NPT final statement as strengthening "the global non-proliferation regime" but said he "strongly" opposed singling out Israel over talks for a Mideast nuclear-weapon-free zone.
Meanwhile, undeclared nuclear power Israel Saturday denounced the 'hypocrisy' of a UN call for a nuclear-free Middle East that singled it out but ignored Iran, which is suspected of seeking the bomb and which welcomed the document.
"This accord has the hallmark of hypocrisy. Only Israel is mentioned, while the text is silent about other countries like India, Pakistan and North Korea, which have nuclear arms, or even more seriously, Iran, which is seeking to obtain them," a senior government official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
It was the first agreement in 10 years on the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which since 1970 has set the global agenda for fighting the spread of nuclear weapons.
Diplomats at an NPT review conference approved by consensus a 28-page final document that for the first time laid out action plans on the three pillars of the treaty -- disarmament, non-proliferation and promoting peaceful atomic energy.
The most controversial item was a fourth action plan, on working towards a Middle East free of nuclear weapons, a move that would in the end require a profound strategic re-orientation in this highly volatile region.
US President Barack Obama welcomed the NPT final statement as strengthening "the global non-proliferation regime" but said he "strongly" opposed singling out Israel over talks for a Mideast nuclear-weapon-free zone.
Meanwhile, undeclared nuclear power Israel Saturday denounced the 'hypocrisy' of a UN call for a nuclear-free Middle East that singled it out but ignored Iran, which is suspected of seeking the bomb and which welcomed the document.
"This accord has the hallmark of hypocrisy. Only Israel is mentioned, while the text is silent about other countries like India, Pakistan and North Korea, which have nuclear arms, or even more seriously, Iran, which is seeking to obtain them," a senior government official told AFP on condition of anonymity.