SYRIA:THE INTERNATIONAL Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced yesterday that Damascus has invited experts to visit Syria to investigate Israeli and US allegations of a clandestine nuclear programme.
Inspectors are set to visit Syria between June 22nd and 24th and to study an alleged reactor site at al-Kibar in eastern Syria which was bombed by Israeli warplanes in September 2007.
"I look forward to Syria's full co-operation in this matter," IAEA director general Mohamed ElBaradei told the agency's board. Syria's decision to admit inspectors is a breakthrough for the IAEA after nine months of controversy.
Mr ElBaradei reiterated criticisms of the US for delaying the release of intelligence on the site and complained that Israel had obliterated evidence before the IAEA could inspect the site in order to determine whether Syria was in breach of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
"It is deeply regrettable that information concerning this installation was not provided to the agency in a timely manner and that force was resorted to unilaterally before the agency was given an opportunity to establish the facts," he said.
"Syria, like all states with comprehensive [nuclear] safeguards agreements, has an obligation to report the planning and construction of any nuclear facility to the agency. We are, therefore, treating [US] information with the seriousness it deserves and have been in discussions with the Syrian authorities . . . to verify, to the extent possible at this stage, the veracity of the information available."
Mr ElBaradei was also critical of Iran's failure to hand over information on its nuclear programme requested by the agency.
Syria has repeatedly denied it was constructing a reactor or seeking nuclear weapons. Three weeks after the Israeli raid, President Bashar al-Assad admitted that the facility targeted was an empty military installation but repudiated charges that North Korea was helping Syria build a reactor or weapons. Subsequently the rubble of the building was bulldozed and another structure was erected on the site.
Last month the Bush administration again accused North Korea of helping Syria to build a reactor that "was not intended for peaceful purposes".
The CIA presented to Congress photographs taken by Israel as proof of this charge. They included images allegedly shot inside the building which were said to show a reactor core, modelled on the North Korean reactor at Yongbyon. Officials admitted the facility was not operational and no fuel had been introduced.
Some experts queried the US accusations, arguing that facilities normally associated with a reactor were absent, and said some of the photos may have been doctored.
Damascus's decision to host IAEA inspectors is in line with Dr Assad's policy of ending Syria's isolation by promoting dialogue with major international players. Towards achieving his objective, he has also co-operated with the UN mission investigating the charge - levelled by the US, Saudi Arabia and some Lebanese politicians but rejected by Damascus - that Syria was involved in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafik al-Hariri.
