Israel's refusal to participate in a first-of-its-kind UN-organized conference on Middle East nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) is regrettable but not catastrophic as it can join the process at any time, Vladimir Yermakov, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control, said on Wednesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th November, 2019) Israel's refusal to participate in a first-of-its-kind UN-organized conference on middle East nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) is regrettable but not catastrophic as it can join the process at any time, Vladimir Yermakov, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control, said on Wednesday.
"It's regrettable that Israel did not take part in the conference. But according to our view there is nothing catastrophic, because it's just the beginning of this process and as it evolves Israel can of course join it," Yermakov said at a news conference in Moscow.
The diplomat stressed that the Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction, held in the New York from November 18 to November 22, harbored no anti-Israeli sentiment whatsoever.
"The sooner Israel will join the process the sooner and deeper its interests will be considered," Yermakov added.
Israel is widely believed to possess a stockpile of nuclear weapons, speculated to number between 90 and 400 warheads, although it was never officially acknowledged. The country is not a signatory to the landmark Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The Middle Eastern country is also not a signatory to the Biological Weapons Convention. Israel has signed but not ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
Prominent rights groups and expert analyses accuse Israel of using white phosphorous, prohibited by the CWC, during its offensive on Gaza in 2008 and 2009.
