EUROPEANS SUPPORT MIDDEAST FREE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Brussels,6 Rabiul Awwal 1434/18 January 2013 (MINA)– The Socialists and Democrats (S&D) Group welcomed in a statement the resolution adopted by the European Parliament on Thursday on the “Recommendations of the non-proliferation treaty review conference regarding the establishment of a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction.”
The resolution expressed regret over the postponement of the conference, which the 2010 non-proliferation treaty review conference had originally scheduled for 2012, according to Palestinian News Agency, WAFA report received by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA), Friday.
It urged the UN secretary-general, the UN facilitator, the sponsors of the 1995 resolution on the Middle East, the EU high representative and the EU member states to ensure that the delayed 2012 conference takes place as soon as possible this year.
The establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East region would greatly enhance international peace and stability, and could serve both as an example and as a positive step forward for the Global Zero campaign, said the statement.
S&D MP Pino Arlacci said, “This resolution represents both a continuation of the long-term commitment of the European Parliament to strengthening the non-proliferation treaty, and a step towards the ultimate aim: a world without nuclear weapons.”
“If realized, a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East offers compelling strategic benefits to the region and the world at large—the zone would resolve the Iran nuclear crisis, thereby removing the stimulus for a proliferation escalation that could result in three or four additional Middle Eastern countries joining the nuclear club,” he added.
‘The zone would also eliminate the most dangerous weapons from the world’s most volatile region and reduce the risk of nuclear weapons being used in war or by accident,’ Arlacci concluded. (T/R-012/R-006)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
