Syria declares 73 tonnes of natural uranium under IAEA safeguards
Syria has placed 73 tonnes of natural uranium under the supervision and safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said this in a video address to the 70th session of the IAEA General Conference, Anadolu Agency reports.
According to the minister, this material will be stored in Syria under safe conditions. Al-Shaibani also said that on September 9, the IAEA Board of Governors unanimously decided to close the case concerning Syria’s nuclear non-compliance, opened in 2011, and permanently remove it from its agenda.
Steps in cooperation with the IAEA
As Syria’s foreign minister reported, on July 17 Damascus sent the agency an official letter disclosing information about the presence of nuclear material at an undeclared site. On July 29, Syria and the IAEA signed a memorandum of understanding and a roadmap on the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
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Al-Shaibani added that Syria had opened the site in Deir ez-Zor to the agency. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi visited it on August 16 after it had been closed for nearly two decades. According to the minister, Syrian specialists and IAEA experts began removing reactor remains from beneath layers of reinforced concrete.
Declared plans for peaceful use
The minister said that Damascus had also provided the IAEA with design information and nuclear material inventory reports, which the Board of Governors had required since 2011. According to him, Syria plans to use nuclear technologies to restore nuclear medicine infrastructure for cancer treatment, in agriculture and groundwater management, for radiation monitoring of food products, scientific research, and energy production.
During his speech, al-Shaibani also called for implementing the 1995 resolution on establishing a zone in the Middle East free of nuclear weapons and other types of weapons of mass destruction. He accused Israel of violating Syrian sovereignty and carrying out attacks on Syrian territory, and called for international pressure to stop them.
