New York, SANA – Syria’s Permanent Representative to the UN Bashar al-Jaafari said that Syria was one of the first countries in the Middle East to sign Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1968 stemming from its conviction that the possession of weapons of mass destruction by any country in the region constitutes a threat to regional and international peace and security, as it is also a sort of an extortion of the security of the region and its peoples.

Delivering Syria’s statement Wednesday during the 2015 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference debates, al-Jaafari said that Syria has been pioneering to call for making the region free of nuclear and other Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), where it submitted during its membership in the UN Security Council (UNSC) a draft resolution //before the UNSC//on 29th December of 2003 to evacuate the area from the lethal weapons.

Nonetheless, he continued to say, Its initiative was opposed by UNSC powerful member states with the aim of aborting it as to cover Israel’s disclaimer from its international responsibilities in this regards.

The Syrian senior diplomat clarified that the Syria’s joining Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in 2013 should be viewed as a basic step towards establishing a WMD-free zone in the Middle East.

Al-Jaafari said .. what was issued by the 2010 NPT Review Conference on establishing a zone free of WMD in the Middle East based on the resolution of the 1995’s Conference makes it a must to obligate Israel to join NPT as a side that does not possess nuclear weapons just like the other states in the region as well as to subject all its nuclear activities and facilities to comprehensive safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) according to UNSC Resolution no. 487 for 1981 and IAEA Resolution no. 17 for 2009, in addition to other relevant resolutions.

It is stunning how Israel defies all the resolutions of the international legitimacy

through continuing to develop its nuclear arsenal backed by some UN member states which possess nuclear weapons, Jaafari wondered.

Al-Jaafari continued to say that some nuclear- weapon states’ acts of providing sophisticated nuclear technology throughout decades and their ongoing protection of the Israeli nuclear exception constitute a blatant violation of these states’ commitment to the provisions of the NPT’s first article.

Most world countries aspire to the implementation of the NPT review conference of 2010, providing for holding a special conference on the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and all other WMD by the end of 2012 in Helsinki in Finland, al-Jaafari said, but Israeli earlier announcement during the IAEA Conference in September 2012 its non-participation in the aforementioned conference has foiled it and made all international efforts exerted in 2010 Conference void of their content, he went on to say.

Showing big concern over the rounds of talks held between Iran and the P5+1 group on the so-called Iranian nuclear issue, al-Jaafari said.. Syria always hopes to reach an agreement that maintains Iran’s right in the use of the nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, He pointed out that Syria, in light of Iran and other parties’ statements on reaching a framework accord for finding a solution to this issue, welcomes the statement issued by the two sides and reiterates the importance of the western countries carrying out their obligations on lifting the unfair economic sanctions imposed on the Iranian people over the past years.

On the IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano statement that the Agency has concluded that it is likely that a building was destroyed in 2007 near Deir Ezzor city, to the east of Syria, was a nuclear reactor which should have been notified to the agency, al-Jaafari lashed out at the UN Security Council and the IAEA on not condemning the Israeli flagrant aggression on the site in Deir Ezzor, may be because they used to be lenient with the Israeli violation of their legitimate and international resolutions connected to our region he mocked.

He pointed out that Israel rejected to cooperate with the agency and allow its inspectors to detect for the source of possible contamination caused by the Israeli missiles and the materials that are used in the destruction and contamination of the

site.

He criticized Amano’s allegations as groundless, calling him to frankly call upon Israel to join the treaty and to put all its nuclear facilities under the safeguards system of the IAEA.

Meanwhile, Syria’s Permanent Representative congratulated Algerian Representative for being elected as president of the Conference and Palestine for joining the NPT treaty as a member state.

He also offered condolences to the Nepali government and people on the victims of the earthquake recently hit the country.

R. Milem/ H. Zain/ Barry