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Saudi Arabia Must Place Safeguards on First Nuclear Reactor - IAEA

Saudi Arabia Must Place Safeguards on First Nuclear Reactor - IAEA
folder_openSaudi Arabia access_time4 years ago
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By Staff, Agencies

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Yukiya Amano said Friday the agency is asking Saudi Arabia to agree to safeguards on nuclear material that could arrive by the end of the year for its first atomic reactor.

Satellite imagery recently emerged of the Argentine-built project on the outskirts of Riyadh, which comes amid controversy in Washington over US President Donald Trump’s approval of nuclear projects with the oil-rich kingdom.

Amano, however, said there was nothing secret about the reactor and that Saudi Arabia informed the Vienna-based UN body about its plans in 2014.

He said the IAEA has encouraged Saudi Arabia to put into force a comprehensive safeguards agreement, under which the agency ensures that nuclear material is not being diverted to weapons use.

Saudi Arabia in 2005 signed with the IAEA a so-called small quantities protocol, which exempts countries from inspections if they have no or minimal nuclear programs.

“We have proposed to Saudi Arabia to rescind and replace it by the full-fledged comprehensive safeguards agreement,” Amano told reporters in Washington.

He further noted that Saudi Arabia may bring in nuclear material “by the end of the year,” although he cautioned that nuclear projects frequently get delayed.

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