DjFrodo
10-08-2008, 12:33
Syria rules out new IAEA visit
AP
DAMASCUS: Syria yesterday declared a suspect site bombed by Israeli jets last year off-limits to International Atomic Energy Agency experts investigating allegations it was a secretly built atomic reactor.
Justifying the move, a Foreign Ministry official told reporters that its agreement with the UN agency — which already toured the site in June — allowed only one visit. The official, who was not authorized to speak to the media, spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Syrian statement appeared to be prompted by comments made by diplomats accredited to the Vienna, Austria-based IAEA. They told The Associated Press that Damascus late last month turned down a request from the agency for a follow-up visit meant to investigate whether Damascus was hiding a nuclear program built with the help of North Korea. A return to the bombed site would have been on the IAEA agenda for a second trip.
The US alleges that the remote site was a near-finished plutonium-producing reactor built with North Korean help and that Damascus is hiding linked facilities. The Syrian official denied that.
In Vienna, a senior diplomat told the AP that “the Syrians said that a visit at this time was inopportune.” He and two others agreeing to discuss the issue demanded anonymity because their information was confidential. That appeared to leave open the possibility of a later visit. But one of the other diplomats said members of the Syrian mission to the IAEA were spreading the word among other missions that further trips beyond the one in June were unlikely.
Bron ArabNews
Wat heeft Syrie te verbergen ?
AP
DAMASCUS: Syria yesterday declared a suspect site bombed by Israeli jets last year off-limits to International Atomic Energy Agency experts investigating allegations it was a secretly built atomic reactor.
Justifying the move, a Foreign Ministry official told reporters that its agreement with the UN agency — which already toured the site in June — allowed only one visit. The official, who was not authorized to speak to the media, spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Syrian statement appeared to be prompted by comments made by diplomats accredited to the Vienna, Austria-based IAEA. They told The Associated Press that Damascus late last month turned down a request from the agency for a follow-up visit meant to investigate whether Damascus was hiding a nuclear program built with the help of North Korea. A return to the bombed site would have been on the IAEA agenda for a second trip.
The US alleges that the remote site was a near-finished plutonium-producing reactor built with North Korean help and that Damascus is hiding linked facilities. The Syrian official denied that.
In Vienna, a senior diplomat told the AP that “the Syrians said that a visit at this time was inopportune.” He and two others agreeing to discuss the issue demanded anonymity because their information was confidential. That appeared to leave open the possibility of a later visit. But one of the other diplomats said members of the Syrian mission to the IAEA were spreading the word among other missions that further trips beyond the one in June were unlikely.
Bron ArabNews
Wat heeft Syrie te verbergen ?