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6 June 2012

STATEMENT MADE BY MR. BORA KERİMOĞLU
DEPUTY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF TURKEY
AT THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE IAEA
Agenda Item 12

Any Other Business


Thank you Mr. Chairperson,

I would like to present the following views of Turkey concerning the establishment of NWFZ in the Middle East.

Turkey's security policies exclude the production and use of all kinds of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). We believe that possession of WMD does not provide additional security to any country, but further increases instability.

Turkey is committed to a world without nuclear weapons. We sincerely wish to see that all countries will come to share the goals of non-proliferation and collectively work towards a safer and more stable world.

Turkey supports all efforts aimed at developing a common regional understanding on the establishment of an effectively verifiable zone free of WMD and their means of delivery in the Middle East.

We strongly believe that all countries in the region should become party to all international arrangements for the prevention of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, particularly the NPT.

With these considerations in mind, Turkey worked towards the adoption of the decision in the Final Document of the NPT 2010 Review Conference to convene a conference in 2012, to be attended by all States of the Middle East, on the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction.

Mr. Chairperson,

Turkey is a strong advocate of the objectives of the Resolution on the Middle East adopted at the 1995 NPT Review Conference. We worked together with many other countries towards the endorsement by the 2010 RevCon, on the convening of a Conference in 2012 on the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and all other WMD.

We strongly welcome last year’s appointment of Undersecretary of State of Finland Jaakko Laajava as facilitator and the designation of Finland to host the 2012 conference. We appreciate Mr Laajava’s steady efforts to reach out and consult with numerous countries in order to lay the foundations for a successful conference.

Thank you.