Russia Wants Israel To Join NPT: Lavrov

[Purveyor]

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) - Russia wants Israel, which has never admitted its nuclear status but is nevertheless believed to possess nuclear weapons, to join the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to establish a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East, the Russian foreign minister said.

"We believe that the practical implementation of a nuclear-free zone will become possible only when all countries in the region, including Israel, join the NPT and subject their activities to the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)," Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with Syrian Arab News Agency, published Friday by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

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"Russia's principled position - that Israel should join the NPT and all Arab countries should join the Chemical Weapons Convention - remains unchanged," the Russian minister said.

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http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=3/3/2007&Cat=2&Num=017

[Forkboy]

1. They don't even admit to having them,so I doubt they'll be taking this offer.

[Greeby]

2. If Russia was signing those multi-billion dollar cheques for military aid

They'd probably get their way

[cali]

6. Not a chance.

If tomorrow the U.S. stopped all military aid to Israel, they wouldn't destroy there nukes. Israe's defense spending is something around 10 billion a year. The US gives it approximately 2.7 billion in military aid. Now that's a hefty amount of aid, but if Israel had to choose between their nukes and military aid, my guess is that they'd stick with their nukes.

[originalpckelly]

3. HAHA!

:rofl:

Why shouldn't Israel join?

[WCGreen]

5. Exactly.....

[BlooInBloo]

4. To whom, exactly, would Israel give nukes?