Syria Must Give IAEA Access To Suspect Site: ElBaradei

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Vienna,: The UN atomic watchdog pressed Syria today for "maximum transparency" in a probe into allegations that Damascus had been building a covert nuclear reactor until it was bombed by Israeli planes.

"For the agency to complete its assessment, maximum transparency by Syria ... (is) essential," International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei told the organisation's board of governors at the start of a two-day meeting here.

The United States claims that the remote desert site, Al-Kibar, had been a covert nuclear reactor close to completion, until it was razed to the ground by Israeli bombs in September 2007.

Damascus has repeatedly dismissed the allegations, insisting that Al-Kibar was a disused military facility.

In its first report on the matter, made after an initial visit by IAEA inspectors to the site in June, the IAEA found that Al-Kibar did indeed appear to share some of the characteristics of a nuclear reactor and that traces of uranium had been found there.

However, follow-up visits to both Al-Kibar and a number of other military sites in Syria, and access to documentation and individuals would be needed to draw any definitive conclusions, the report said.

ElBaradei reiterated the need for follow-up investigations today.

"We have asked Syria to permit the agency to visit the locations of debris and equipment removed from the site in order to take samples that would help us assess the origin of the uranium and also to ascertain the possible existence of any nuclear grade graphite that is normally associated with the type of alleged reactor," he said. ienna, Nov 27: The UN atomic watchdog pressed Syria today for "maximum transparency" in a probe into allegations that Damascus had been building a covert nuclear reactor until it was bombed by Israeli planes.

"For the agency to complete its assessment, maximum transparency by Syria ... (is) essential," International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei told the organisation's board of governors at the start of a two-day meeting here.

The United States claims that the remote desert site, Al-Kibar, had been a covert nuclear reactor close to completion, until it was razed to the ground by Israeli bombs in September 2007.

Damascus has repeatedly dismissed the allegations, insisting that Al-Kibar was a disused military facility.

In its first report on the matter, made after an initial visit by IAEA inspectors to the site in June, the IAEA found that Al-Kibar did indeed appear to share some of the characteristics of a nuclear reactor and that traces of uranium had been found there.

However, follow-up visits to both Al-Kibar and a number of other military sites in Syria, and access to documentation and individuals would be needed to draw any definitive conclusions, the report said.

ElBaradei reiterated the need for follow-up investigations today.

"We have asked Syria to permit the agency to visit the locations of debris and equipment removed from the site in order to take samples that would help us assess the origin of the uranium and also to ascertain the possible existence of any nuclear grade graphite that is normally associated with the type of alleged reactor," he said.


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