Russia invites Israel to discuss nuclear program

MOSCOW

Moscow invited Israel to discuss its nuclear program at a conference on the establishment of a zone free of weapons of mass-destruction in the Middle East, Russia said on Friday.

Tel Aviv has yet to announce whether it would participate in the event slated for the end of 2019, deputy foreign minister Sergey Ryabkov told to Anadolu Agency in Moscow.

"We think all potential participants of this event will have fair opportunity to effectively exercise, defend and support their interests and priorities," said Ryabkov.

He underlined that there would be many participants at the conference who would be willing to open Israel’s nuclear program to discussion at the conference.

"I am a supporter of discussing the issues related to certain aspects of the security of a state in the presence of such a [nuclear armed] state," Ryabkov said, adding that decisions would be maid via consensus and that none would be able to "dictate" Israel against its security interests.

Details of the Israeli nuclear program first became known in 1985, when the country's former nuclear technician and peace activist Mordechai Vanunu, citing his opposition to weapons of mass destruction, revealed details of Israel's nuclear weapons program to the press in 1986, though Tel Aviv has yet to confirm this.

- Iran 'most inspected country in the world'

Stressing that Iran had adhered to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Actions (JCPOA), commonly known as Iran nuclear deal, Ryabkov said Iran was the most inspected country in the word.

He added that problems remained in the promised economic normalization in the country by the West.

The U.S. not only withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, but also threatened to put sanctions on other countries cooperating with Tehran, Ryabkov added.

He slammed Washington's "defiance of international agreements" and confirmed Russia's intention to respect the JCPOA.