Saudi Arabia vows to cooperate with IAEA

6/13/2005

Saudi Arabia is willing to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog, a Foreign Ministry official said, adding that the kingdom doesn't have any nuclear facilities or reactors.

Saudi Arabia “stresses its continuous desire to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency and its commitment to abiding by the international agreements, especially the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and others", the Saudi Press Agency quoted the official as saying.

The Kingdom "does not own any nuclear facilities or reactors", he added.

The comments came after the United States, Europe and Australia urged Saudi Arabia to allow UN nuclear inspections.

However, the official, who demanded anonymity, said that his country still wants to sign up an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which could limit UN inspection of any atomic activity in the kingdom.

The IAEA is considering a Saudi request to sign the "small quantities protocol" of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, an agreement that countries which say they have little or no nuclear activities can reach with the IAEA.

IAEA officials say that the protocol is a serious loophole in the agency’s inspection regime.

Diplomats on the IAEA board say that Saudi Arabia is prepared to let the IAEA conduct additional inspections that go beyond the protocol, to allay any fears that Riyadh might be hiding anything.

Top Saudi foreign policy adviser Adel al-Jubeir said that the kingdom has "no desire to acquire any type of weapon of mass destruction, period", adding that media reports that Riyadh sought possible nuclear weapons help from Pakistan are "not correct".

He added that his country "supports all the steps and efforts to establish areas free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction", adding that the kingdom support international efforts to spare the world the dangers of weapons of mass destruction.

Saudi Arabia denies that it is planning to develop atomic weapons, and diplomats close to the IAEA say the agency doesn’t possess any evidence to the contrary.