News / Foreign Policy

US torpedoes UN nuclear disarmament conference

Saturday, 23 May 2015 3:29 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 23 May 2015 10:08 PM ]

US Arms Control Under Secretary Rose Gottemoeller told the NPT conference on Friday that the language on the final NPT review document was "incompatible with our long-standing policies”.

The United States has blocked a global document aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology.

Over 150 countries participated in a month-long conference reviewing the 1970 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

After four weeks of negotiations at the United Nations on ways to improve compliance with the NPT, the United States announced on Friday that there was "no agreement" and accused Arab countries of torpedoing the nuclear disarmament negotiations.

The talks ended in failure after the US and its allies, including Canada and Britain rejected a proposal made by Arab countries to establish a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East by March 2016.

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida addresses the 2015 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference, in the United Nations General Assembly, April 27, 2015. (AFP photo)

Israel, which is not a member of the NPT but attended the conference as an observer, also opposed the plan. The next treaty review conference is in 2020.

The US blamed Egypt and other Arab states for attempting to "cynically manipulate" the process by setting a deadline for Israel to meet within months on a Middle East zone free of such weapons.

Rose Gottemoeller, the US undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, said that provisions on holding the conference were "incompatible with our long-standing policies".

She told the NPT conference that the nuclear-free zone proposal could not succeed without “the full mutual consent of all the states in the region”, a clear reference to Israel's opposition.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry addresses the 2015 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference, in the UN General Assembly, Monday, April 27, 2015. (AP photo)

Gottemoeller accused "a number of states, in particular Egypt" of refusing to "let go of unrealistic and unworkable conditions" to create the nuclear weapons-free zone.

Egypt on Friday said it was very disappointed and warned, "This will have consequences in front of the Arab world and public opinion."

Opening the Review Conference last month, US Secretary of State John Kerry also warned that “there would be no prospect for engagement or agreement absent the consent of all the states involved.”