Israel blames its Arab neighbors for the lack of progress toward a nuclear-free Middle East.
It is emphasized that "if there has not been a serious regional effort in the last five years, it is not because of Israel".
This was stated in an Israeli announcement shared on Thursday at a conference at the UN headquarters in New York on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. It is also recalled that Israel expressed its desire to meet with its neighbors and to come up with a plan for talks on the zone, but after five round of consultations with Arab countries in Switzerland from October 2013 to June 2014, other countries broke off those talks.
The consultations were "the first direct contact between Israel and its neighbors on the issue in more than 20 years."
Israel "reacted positively" to Finland's invitation in October and January of this year to hold consultations for the sixth time, but they were postponed several times and did not take place," the statement reads.
"This strong opposition to direct dialogue with Israel highlights and reinforces mistrust and suspicion between countries in the region. Ultimately, it is difficult to understand how we can deal with disarmament, arms control and regional security issues if there is no direct dialogue between regional countries, as proposed by the Arab Group state," the announcement concludes.
Israel is participating in the meeting at the UN as an observer. That country has never publicly acknowledged, or claimed to possess, an atomic bomb, nor is it a signatory to the aforementioned agreement. As an observer, she cannot address the participants, according to the Associated Press.
Many countries at the meeting expressed their dissatisfaction that there was no key meeting planned for 2012, with the aim of making the Middle East a zone without nuclear weapons.
That goal was set when the conference was previously held five years ago. Both the US and Russia support the establishment of such a zone in such a tense region, and both countries called for progress this Sunday.
Russia expressed serious displeasure "due to the delay" and Secretary of State John Kerry called the proposed zone an "ambitious goal full of challenges" but said it was worth achieving, AP reported.
Iran, whose nuclear program Israel protests, used the setback to achieve its goal to retaliate. Speaking on behalf of more than 100, mostly developing countries, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif called on Israel to give up its nuclear weapons, warning that it poses a threat.
The Israeli statement did not explain what actually stood in the way of the continuation of negotiations, but Israel calls for dialogue. The country's decision to participate in the UN conference as an observer for the first time since 1995 is "a reflection of Israel's commitment to the principle of non-proliferation," Israeli officials said.
They also called for direct contact and consensus-based dialogue with Arab countries on a range of security issues.
Palestine, which is participating in the conference for the first time as a state, reiterated the call of the Arab group to Israel, the only country that has not signed the agreement, to immediately sign and ratify it without delay.
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