Brussels, 02/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 1 July, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton called on all states in the Middle East region “to urgently and proactively engage” with the facilitator, Ambassador of Finland Jaako Laajava, and the organisers, with the aim of enabling the conference on the creation of a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction to be convened “as soon as possible this year, on the basis of arrangements freely entered into between the states of the region”. Ashton said that the EU “continues to fully support the ongoing preparations for a successful conference and in particular the tireless effort of its facilitator (…) and his team to lay the groundwork in this respect”.
Ashton reiterated that the EU has been committed to a Middle East free of nuclear weapons and free of other weapons of mass destruction since the 1995 Barcelona Declaration, ahead of the 2015 review conference on the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and its preparatory process. This Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction “remains a strategic priority of the European Union to support peace and stability in the entire Middle East”, Ashton stated.
In a press release on 24 November 2012 (see EUROPE 10738), Ashton noted “with regret” the postponement of the Helsinki conference on the creation of a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, which was planned for 2012 - a conference that was cancelled “due to the current situation in the Middle East”. (CG/transl.fl)