IAEA sources: Further probe needed into Syrian nuclear site

Diplomats working with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said yesterday that the agency should push ahead with an investigative probe into Syria's nuclear sites. The assessment was given after fresh ground and air samples were taken from a site which Israel bombed on suspicion of being a secret nuclear reactor over a year ago.

Preliminary results regarding samples taken by the IAEA earlier this year were inconclusive, but the latest tests have diplomats involved in the issue calling for further investigations. Syria's IAEA delegate, Ambassador Mohammed Badi Khattab, said that he was unaware of the outcome of the latest results and would not make a comment until his country was informed on the findings. Aside from the investigation, IAEA experts also want to follow up US, Israeli and other intelligence suggesting North Korea provided materials to help Syria's nuclear programme.

Syria is aware of the three sets of UN economic sanctions imposed on Iran over its refusal to participate in IAEA inspections and does not want the situation to lead to such a wide scale investigation like the Iranian case. Damascus would also not like this situation to boil over after it has recently diplomatic efforts to improve its standing among the international community. In the past months, Syria has held indirect talks with Israeli officials over a peace plan and for the first time in its history formalised diplomatic ties with Lebanon. In recent news, British Foreign Secretary David Milliband met with his Syrian counterpart Walid Moallem in London yesterday to discuss ways the two countries could work together to promote stability in the region. Syria's involvement in suspicious activity and the lack of transparency undermine and jeopardise these efforts.

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