Israel sidesteps nuclear-free Mideast in secret talks with NPT official

Israel sidesteps nuclear-free Mideast in secret talks with NPT official
The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty conference is scheduled to be held in Helsinki in December but could be deferred until 2013.

By Amir Oren

Finland's Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs visited Jerusalem secretly last week for talks with Israeli counterparts about Israel's involvement in a conference to ban nuclear arms from the Middle East. Two years ago Israel voiced opposition to such a conference.

The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty conference is scheduled to be held in Helsinki in December but could be deferred until 2013. The main item on the agenda is likely to be attempts made by Arab states and Iran to curb Israel's nuclear capability.

Israel wants to coordinate its positions with the United States. The Americans support the staging of such a conference. They are worried that its cancelation could serve as a pretext to undermine their efforts to promote the NPT, and could erode U.S. President Barack Obama's vision of a nuclear-weapon-free world.

However, during last week's meetings with Finland's Jaakko Laajava - the NPT conference coordinator - Israeli representatives did not agree to Israel's involvement in the disarmament talks in Finland.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-sidesteps-nuclear-free-mideast-in-secret-talks-with-npt-official-1.423642