West presses resolution against Syria at IAEA

VIENNA: The United States and its western allies pressed ahead with a resolution against Syria at a meeting of the UN atomic watchdog here on Wednesday, despite opposition from Russia and China.

A draft of the resolution obtained by AFP found Syria in "non-compliance with its obligations" towards its nuclear safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

And in view of that non-compliance, the resolution expected to vote on by the IAEA's 35-member board of governors on Thursday said Damascus should be reported to the UN Security Council in New York.

Washington has long been pressing for Syria to be censured over its refusal to cooperate with the IAEA's three-year investigation into allegations it had been building an undeclared nuclear reactor. The plant at a remote desert site was bombed by Israeli planes in September 2007.

A recent report by the IAEA director general Yukiya Amano saying the site was "very likely" to have been a covert reactor, has provided the additional momentum needed for the resolution to be tabled.

While diplomats say the US resolution co-sponsored by Australia, Belgium, Britain, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany Italy,

Netherlands, Portugal and South Korea could well be passed by a simple majority, Russia and China have signalled their opposition.

And since they are both veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council, their refusal to back the resolution could undermine its impact, diplomats said.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011