10 June 2004
Call for one-year freeze on nuclear sales
Anti-terror initiatives high on agenda
David Teather in Savannah
The Guardian

World leaders were yesterday expected to back a plan for further restrictions on the sale of nuclear technologies in an effort to prevent atomic weapons falling into the hands of terrorists or rogue states.

The plan calls for a one-year freeze on any new plans to transfer enrichment and reprocessing technology to countries that do not already have nuclear capabilities.

The suspension is aimed at countries suspected of developing secret weapons programmes under the guise of building power plants.

Leaders at the annual G8 summit from the US, Britain, Russia, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and Canada also announced plans to tighten up airline security. A 28-point plan includes an assessment of the threat of surface-to-air missiles posed to aircraft using airports in the G8 countries. An estimated 500,000 of the weapons have been made since the 60s and tens of thousands are reportedly missing from the former Soviet Union.

Other priorities include making passports more resistant to fraud and the setting up of a 24-hour centre to coordinate and address imminent threats to airlines.

The nuclear weapons plan comes amid increasing fears about the spread of atomic weapons. This year it emerged that a Pakistani nuclear scientist had aided North Korea, Libya and Iran with their weapons programmes.

A third round of six-country talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons is expected to begin on June 23.

The one-year freeze will be in place until the next G8 summit, which will take place in Britain, where the participants hope to have planned more permanent controls.

"Under the guise of peaceful - so-called peaceful nuclear programmes, many states around the world have acquired very sensitive technologies that permit them to draw very close to having a nuclear weapons capability without ever apparently violating the treaty [on non-proliferation]," a senior US diplomat said.

Britain, France and Germany were meanwhile preparing a draft resolution to censure Iran for its refusal to answer questions from the UN atomic energy agency.

The G8 was planning to announce that the global partnership against the spread of weapons of mass destruction formed several years ago to focus on materials from the former Soviet Union has also been widened. The partnership will now coordinate activities in other states including programmes to retrain scientists in Libya and Iraq, to prevent them taking their knowledge elsewhere.

An additional seven countries have joined the partnership, including Australia, South Korea and the Czech Republic.

The organisation was also expected to announce the expansion of the proliferation security initiative on trafficking in weapons of mass destruction, launched in May last year. It would endorse the strengthening of the powers of the International Atomic Energy Agency to safeguard the sale of technologies.

Russia yesterday refused to halt existing plans to build a nuclear reactor for Iran, despite US pressure, but did offer some concessions. Moscow claims Iran could not produce a bomb with its technology and has told Tehran that any spent fuel from the reactor must be returned to Russia.