DAMASCUS, Syria, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Syria's Foreign Ministry summoned U.S. Ambassador Theodore Kattouf on Sunday to protest recent U.S. statements that Russia continued to support Damascus' nuclear and missile programs.
The official Syrian News Agency (SANA) said the ministry officially made the protest after John Bolton, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, warned last week that the nuclear and missile program of Iran and others, including Syria, were benefitting from Russian technology and expertise.
"... Syria joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1969 and endorsed international guarantee treaties in 1984," the ministry said. Also, Syria receives delegations from the International Atomic Agency, which have all confirmed that its nuclear program was for peaceful purposes.
It said Syria has been calling since 1987 for a Middle East region free of weapons of mass destruction, especially nuclear weapons, under the supervision of the United Nations.
It moreover expressed "strong annoyance for the cooperation between Israel and the U.S. in all armament fields and for Washington's silence over Israel's nuclear program, especially that Israel is still refusing to place its nuclear installations under the supervision of the International Atomic Agency."
Israel has never admitted to possessing nuclear arms, but is widely believed to possess them.
