Nuclear agreement
April 14, 2010
German Chancellor Angela Merkel praised a resolution to institute new controls on nuclear materials at the close of a nuclear summit in Washington on Tuesday.
"A process has been set in motion which will seek to contain one of the more perilous hazards of the 21st century, namely, the threat of nuclear fuel falling into the hands of terrorists," she said.
Other European leaders also praised the summit's accomplishments. Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said the gathering proved that multilateralism "is gaining ground" in the world.
"It has been decades since such an important number of top leaders last gathered to discuss one of the fundamental problems that affect collective security," Zapatero told reporters.
New controls
The 47 leaders in attendance pledged to secure loose nuclear materials within the next four years, and to prevent "non-state actors" from obtaining nuclear material.
"We welcome and join President Obama's call to secure all vulnerable nuclear material in four years, as we work together to enhance nuclear security," the leaders said in a joint statement.
The statement also called for new controls on highly-enriched uranium and separated plutonium - key ingredients of nuclear weapons. At the same time, the agreement recognizes that security measures should "not infringe upon the rights of states to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes" - for example, electricity generated through atomic power.
US President Barack Obama said steps taken at the summit would make the world more secure.
"Nuclear materials that could be sold or stolen and fashioned into a nuclear weapon exist in dozens of nations," Obama said at a post-summit news conference. The detonation of such a weapon "would be a catastrophe for the world - causing extraordinary loss of life, and striking a major blow at global peace and stability."
A sobering reminder
Underlining the importance of the summit's goal, the nation of Georgia revealed that it had prevented the sale of illegally obtained bomb-grade uranium on the black market several times over the last decade, most recently in March.
The statement released during the summit said criminal groups had been using Georgia as a base for the trafficking of nuclear and radioactive substances, and that the Georgian Ministry of Interior had foiled eight sale attempts in all. Like several other former Soviet republics, Georgia has become a center for the trading of illicit radioactive material after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Georgia said it had asked the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency, for help in ascertaining whether such material was being safely contained in the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
In separate remarks, European Union President Herman Van Rompuy said the IAEA should have a stronger role in safeguarding radioactive and nuclear components.
"The EU believes the IAEA should be the engine in this area and consequently be given the qualifications and resources necessary," Van Rompuy told the summit.
He said the EU would provide an unspecified amount of additional funding to help the Vienna-based agency track nuclear materials.
Behind the scenes
Discussions on the sidelines of the summit have also been successful. President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao have agreed to increase pressure on Iran over its nuclear program.
Earlier, German Chancellor Angela Merkel added her voice to calls for movement on the Iran issue, saying she was pleased China was now part of the process dealing with Tehran's nuclear program.
svs/smh/AP/AFP/dpa/Reuters
Editor: John Kluempers