Qatar: " Middle East in Dire Need of Being Free of Weapons of Mass Destruction"

Geneva, May 01 (QNA) - Qatar has called for the establishment of a zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, stressing that such a step should enjoy the concern and priority of the international community due to the strong influence of this region on the international peace and security. The State of Qatar said the Middle East region is in dire need of being free of weapons of mass destruction, saying "we do not want a nuclear or non-nuclear arms race in the region". It stressed that Israel's adherence to this weapon and its insistence on keeping it undeclared, while depriving others from such right, creates an unstable situation in the region the will dissipates any measures aimed to build confidence and promote peace and security. This came in a speech delivered by Deputy Chairman of Qatar National Committee for the Prohibition of Weapons Hassan Saleh Al Nisf during the second preparatory conference for the 2015 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), currently in progress in Geneva. Al Nisf referred to the 1995 resolution on the Middle East, which was adopted by the Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in 1995 by consensus, explaining that the resolution was part of a deal designed to extend the Treaty indefinitely. This encouraged the accession of all Arab countries to the treaty before the start of the 2000 Review Conference, Al Nisf said pointing out that the return was supposed to be the exertion of pressure on Israel by the depository states and the international community to urged it join the treaty, but things were not exactly like that, as Israel has been the only country in the Middle East that has not yet acceded to the Treaty. (QNA)