The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling on Israel to allow inspections of its nuclear facilities and supporting the holding of a conference on the prohibition of nuclear weapons in the Middle East.
174 UN members voted for the resolution, six were against, and six abstained. Israel, USA, Canada, Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau were against.
The United Nations resolution calls on Israel to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty "without further delay" and to open its nuclear facilities to inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Israel, although believed to possess nuclear weapons, refuses to confirm or deny this, and refuses to join the treaty, along with India, Pakistan and North Korea, which are also believed to possess nuclear weapons.
The conference in Helsinki in mid-December was supposed to be attended by all Arab countries and Iran, but the US announced on November 23 that the meeting was canceled, citing the political situation in the region and Iran's defiant stance on nuclear non-proliferation.
Iran and some Arab countries claimed that the real reason for canceling the conference was Israel's refusal to attend the meeting in Finland.
In response to the Arab proposal to create a Middle East without weapons of mass destruction, the 189 signatories of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty called for a conference to establish such a free zone.
A UN resolution welcoming the conference was approved by the disarmament committee before the meeting was cancelled.
Israel's position is that a Middle East peace agreement must first be signed before establishing a zone free of weapons of mass destruction.
Muslim countries in the region claim that Israel's undeclared nuclear arsenal is the biggest threat to peace in the region.
Resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly are not legally binding, but represent the position of the international community and have moral and political weight.
Obama to Moscow: Together against nuclear weapons
US President Barack Obama has called on Russia to join the US in continuing the 20-year-old Nan-Lugar program to destroy nuclear and chemical weapons.
"Russia has said that our agreement is no longer valid due to the development of relations between our two countries," Obama said.
Obama said that they work with Russia as an equal partner and that they should continue their cooperation, because, as he said, it is important for the security of the two countries.
He pointed out that the fight against the nuclear threat also means the fight against terrorists who are trying to obtain weapons of mass destruction.
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