U.N. nuclear watchdog head to visit Syria for “constructive dialogue”
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – U.N.’s nuclear watchdog director revealed on Monday receiving an invitation from the Syrian government to visit Damascus to resume talks on remaining issues from the past.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general, Rafael Grossi, said during a board meeting in Vienna he received an invitation from Faisal Mekdad, Foreign Minister of Syria, to visit Damascus “to re-establish a meaningful, constructive dialogue and process to facilitate the clarification of remaining issues from the past.”
The talks are speculated to discuss a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor that was destroyed by an Israeli air raid in 2007, which the Syrian government denied was a secret nuclear site.
Grossi added the mission to Syria will take place on March 19 after visiting Iraq.
Syria has no official nuclear power reactor in operation but an official energy planning study conducted in 2010, suggested a nuclear power program encompassing two nuclear reactors would be viable to contribute to national electricity production after 2020. Since then, however, the country has been devastated by war and output of previously conducted studies are no longer valid, according to IAEA.