MOSCOW, November 17. /TASS/. Israel’s refusal to take part in the United Nations Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction to be held on November 18-22 runs counter to its own interests, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the Vienna-based international organizations Mikhail Ulyanov said in an interview with the Kommersant daily.
He pointed to the fact that the conference would pass all resolutions only by consensus and being part of the process "Israel could actually control and stop what it doesn’t like." "With the Israeli absent, others will decide at the conference what is to be included in the agreement (on the Middle East nuclear weapon free zone, or MENWFZ - TASS) and in which format. I doubt that it is in Israel’s interests. Participation in the conference would give the Israeli colleagues a possibility to raise other security-related matters," he said.
The Russian diplomat recalled that Israel had taken part in preliminary meetings. "The very fact of Israel’s participation in those meetings and the fact that they outlined their priorities means that such dialogue can be of certain interest for them," he said. "Maybe the Israeli will change their position in a year or two. The United Nations General Assembly envisages that sessions will be held annually. The first one is to take place now. Sessions will go on until the corresponding agreement is reached. It may take more than one year."
In late 2018, the United Nations General Assembly took a decision to organize a Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction in 2019. The conference will be the first step towards practical implementation of the 1995 United Nations General Assembly resolution on a WMD-free zone in the Middle East. The implementation of this resolution has been delayed due to various reasons. Thus, in 2010 the United States did not support the final document of the Review Conference that called on Israel to join the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and place all its nuclear facilities under comprehensive control of the International Atomic Nuclear Agency.
Russia calls for the launch of dialogue on that matter between all the countries of the region and supports the decision to organize the United Nations-brokered conference.