Syria calls for arms ban

Syria calls for arms ban

Chemical as well as nuclear arms will be included in the ban

Syria says it is planning to submit a United Nations resolution shortly to rid the Middle East of any nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

Foreign Minister Farouq al-Sharaa said Syria was ready to sign such an agreement, so long as it came under a UN-supervised treaty.

His comments follow the announcement that Arab countries will push the UN to make the Middle East free from nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

Correspondents say the move is aimed at focusing attention on Israel, which is believed to have a nuclear capability.

Speaking to an Australian TV network, Mr Sharaa said: "This is better for the Americans, Israelis, and all peoples of the world, especially the peoples of the Middle East.

"It is in the interest of the US forces in Iraq that the Middle East be free of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons of mass destruction."

He added that this would make it difficult for terrorists to get their hands on such weapons.

US accusations

There have long been calls for the Middle East to be a nuclear-free zone.

But the new calls, promoted by the 22-nation Arab Group, will also seek to eliminate chemical and biological weapons.

Finding his father's capacity to duck and weave successfully to avoid being crushed is his [Syrian President Bashar al-Assad] major challenge in the weeks ahead

Gerald Butt, Middle East analyst

Syrian President faces tough test

The developments follow United States allegations that Syria has chemical weapons, which prompted fears that it may be next in line for military action.

"The only party in the region with weapons of mass destruction is Israel. If Israel is the only country, then why are the accusations against Syria?" Syrian envoy Fayssal Mekdad said following a meeting of Arab diplomats at the UN on Tuesday.

Syria is a party to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, but not to the international conventions to control chemical or biological weapons. Israel is not a party to any of the treaties.

The US has been accused of double standards in trying to crack down on Syria, North Korea and Iran while ignoring Israel.

Mr Mekdad said Syria would become a party to the biological and chemical weapons conventions "provided that Israel takes them as well".

The Arab League on 24 March had decided to seek a resolution declaring the Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction, said the body's representative to the UN, Ambassador Yahya Mahmassani.

Syrian role

But it was decided that Syria - the only Arab nation on the Security Council - should introduce the resolution.

Ambassador Mahmassani added that Syria was being subjected to "unacceptable threats" from the US based on "unfounded allegations".

Damascus denies having chemical weapons

"The Arab world is already engulfed with anger and frustration and rage over the attack and occupation of Iraq. Any attempt to threaten Syria is unaccepted absolutely," he said.

But on Wednesday, American officials said they believed a senior member of Iraq's intelligence service Farouq Hijazi had flown to Syria the previous day from Tunisia, where he held the post of Iraqi ambassador.

He is believed to have been director of external operations for Iraqi intelligence in the early 1990s, at the time of an alleged Iraqi plot to assassinate President George W Bush's father, when he was himself president, during a visit to Kuwait.