VIENNA, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. nuclear watchdog fears Arab ambassadors may condemn Israel at the next board of governors meeting, Asharq al-Awsat reported.
In an exclusive interview with the newspaper Sunday, Glyn Davies, the U.S. ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, called on Arab ambassadors to work within the international consensus achieved by the New York Conference which reviewed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in May.
The American diplomat told the newspaper of "the necessity of working as a united front to implement policies to encourage Israel to participate in the 2012 conference, and this is in order to achieve the objective that all parties seek, which is a Middle East region that is free of nuclear weapons."
"What is more positive? For the IAEA General Conference to pass a resolution condemning Israel and for this [news] to adorn the headlines, or for a coordinated attempt to take place dissolve the confrontation and criticism which would facilitate the Israeli officials' decision to participate [at the 2012 conference]?" Davies told the paper.
The earlier New York Conference reached an agreement on the issue of nuclear disarmament and the establishment of a zone free of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, the paper said. This agreement also called on Israel to accede to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and open its nuclear facilities to international inspection, the report said..
The IAEA Board of Governors Meeting and the 54th IAEA General Conference is scheduled to begin next week, the newspaper said.
