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Turkish President Abdullah Gul yesterday said he would endorse the goal of a nuclear weapon-free Middle East in a speech Thursday before the U.N. General Assembly (see GSN, Sept. 20).
"We would like to see our region free of nuclear weapons," Gul told the Associated Press. "The region should not be under such a threat."
The announcement could produce friction with the United States, which might consider the declaration a sleight against Israel and unnecessarily troublesome following resumption of Middle East peace talks, according to AP.
Israel is widely presumed to be the only nuclear-armed nation in the Middle East, although Jerusalem has neither confirmed nor denied possessing nuclear weapons. The Obama administration has warned that pressuring Israel over its nuclear program could endanger plans for a 2012 meeting on establishing a WMD-free zone in the Middle East. Some U.S. officials have supported a regional nuclear weapon-free zone that does not include the nation (see GSN, Sept. 16).
"We cannot accuse Iran" of seeking nuclear bomb unless proof exists to support the assertion, Gul added. Washington and other governments suspect the Persian Gulf nation's nuclear program is geared toward weapons development, but Tehran has maintained its atomic work includes no military component (see related GSN story, today).
"We want Iran to be transparent" with the International Atomic Energy Agency, Gul said. "We in Turkey would like to see a peaceful, a diplomatic solution to this problem" (Anita Snow, Associated Press/Google News, Sept. 21).
"We would like to see our region free of nuclear weapons," Gul told the Associated Press. "The region should not be under such a threat."
The announcement could produce friction with the United States, which might consider the declaration a sleight against Israel and unnecessarily troublesome following resumption of Middle East peace talks, according to AP.
Israel is widely presumed to be the only nuclear-armed nation in the Middle East, although Jerusalem has neither confirmed nor denied possessing nuclear weapons. The Obama administration has warned that pressuring Israel over its nuclear program could endanger plans for a 2012 meeting on establishing a WMD-free zone in the Middle East. Some U.S. officials have supported a regional nuclear weapon-free zone that does not include the nation (see GSN, Sept. 16).
"We cannot accuse Iran" of seeking nuclear bomb unless proof exists to support the assertion, Gul added. Washington and other governments suspect the Persian Gulf nation's nuclear program is geared toward weapons development, but Tehran has maintained its atomic work includes no military component (see related GSN story, today).
"We want Iran to be transparent" with the International Atomic Energy Agency, Gul said. "We in Turkey would like to see a peaceful, a diplomatic solution to this problem" (Anita Snow, Associated Press/Google News, Sept. 21).
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