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Nuclear-free Mideast? States can't even agree on agenda

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Monday, February 14, 2005

LONDON – The International Atomic Energy Agency has been struggling with arranging a meeting on a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East.

IAEA sources said director-general Mohammed El Baradei has been unable to obtain agreement for an agenda for such a meeting. The sources said Egypt has sought to place Israel's purported nuclear weapons arsenal as a main item on the agenda, Middle East Newsline reported.

"The issue is stuck," an IAEA source said.

The agency sought such a meeting ahead of the parley to review the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in May 2005. Egypt wants to link the NPT review with a meeting that would focus on eliminating nuclear weapons from the Middle East.

IAEA spokesman Mark Gwozdecky confirmed that the agency has not been able to set a date or agenda for a Middle East forum. He said the agency continued to negotiate with several Middle East states.

Gwozdecky cited difficulties on reaching agreement of both technical and legal issues as well as a date of the proposed meeting. He did not elaborate.

But agency sources said the source of the dispute was between Egypt and Israel. Israel has sought to widen any discussion of a nuclear-free Middle East to include Iran.

In contrast, the sources said, Egypt wanted to limit the agenda to pressure Israel to sign the NPT. Iran has been a signator to the treaty.


Copyright © 2005 East West Services, Inc.

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