AL Slams US For Delaying Int'l Nuclear Confab

Cairo, Nov 26, IRNA – The Arab League strongly criticized the US for supporting Israel's nuclear ambitions and delaying holding a conference on nuclear disarmament by putting unnecessary conditions for it. Arab League's representative for Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Vael al-Assad, told reporters on Sunday that the League's secretariat has called for holding an extraordinary session of Arab senior nuclear officials on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss a call by US to postpone the conference on removal of nuclear weapons from the Middle East and also the conditions set by the US in this regard. He noted that the conditions as announced by Washington contradict the international commitments on agreements reached in a 2010 conference on reviewing nuclear non-proliferation treaty. 'The organizers of 2012 nuclear conference (US, Russia and UK) have called for putting off the meeting, while the foreign ministers of Arab states in their meeting have voiced their explicit opposition to its postponement,' al-Assad added. He went on to say that the US cannot cancel the conference because holding the conference is according to an international decision and the conditions set by Washington are a kind of killing the time which will eventually result in cancellation of the conference. 'We hope that the outcome of the upcoming meeting slated for November 28-29 between Arab countries will exceed issuing a statement and expressing regret, and the participants of the meeting could take necessary executive and practical measures,' the Arab official said./end