State Department official calls on Israel to sign Non-Proliferation Treaty; Mum on Iran
Thursday, May 7, 2009 E-Mail this story Free Headline Alerts
WASHINGTON — The administration of President Barack Obama has grouped Israel with India, North Korea and Pakistan as countries required to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
"Universal adherence to the NPT itself, including by India, Israel, Pakistan and North Korea remains a fundamental objective of the United States," Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller said. In 2008, the United States signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with India despite its refusal to join NPT.
Ms. Gottemoeller, who defended the nuclear cooperation accord with India, did not cite Iran's uranium enrichment program, banned by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Over the last eight years, the United States has used the NPT review to criticize Iran's nuclear program.
In an address to the NPT conference on May 5, Ms. Gottemoeller said the Obama administration would launch a renewed effort to win Israeli agreement to join NPT, which includes 189 countries including Iran. She did not elaborate.
In 1998, India and Pakistan conducted nuclear explosions. In 2006, North Korea, three years after withdrawing from NPT, staged a nuclear test.
Israel has refused to sign NPT, saying this must wait until peace with the Arab world. The Jewish state has never denied nor confirmed reports that it has up to 200 nuclear weapons.
"We must strengthen the NPT to deal effectively with the threat of nuclear weapons and nuclear terrorism," Obama said in a message read to the conference. "Action is needed to improve verification and compliance with the NPT and to foster the responsible and widest possible use of nuclear energy by all states."
Officials said Obama was expected to discuss Israel's nuclear program during his meeting with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on May 18. They said the administration plans to intensify diplomacy for nuclear disarmament.
"The administration of President Barack Obama was encouraging all holdouts to join the treaty," Ms. Gottemoeller said.
Obama has been urged by aides to press Israel to sign the NPT as part of any plan to end Iran's uranium enrichment program. In 2005, Ms. Gottemoeller co-authored a study titled "Universal Compliance: A Strategy for Nuclear Security," which called for Israel to dismantle nuclear weapons in exchange for an end to Arab and Iranian weapons of mass destruction programs.
"Instead of defensively trying to ignore Israels nuclear status, the United States and Israel should proactively call for regional dialogue to specify the conditions necessary to achieve a zone free of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons," Ms. Gottemoeller wrote.