Rudd clarifies nuclear call

FOREIGN Minister Kevin Rudd has backflipped on his call for Israel to open up to nuclear weapons inspections, recognising the country’s “somewhat unique security
circumstances”.

Rudd has been accused from a number of quarters, including by one of his most public supporters, The Australian newspaper’s respected foreign editor Greg Sheridan, of “policy freelancing”.

A Labor MP also told The AJN he predicted that had Rudd presented the policy to a party room meeting, it most likely would have been rejected.

Rudd, who has always emphasised the friendship between Australia and Israel, last week called for Israel to open up to nuclear inspectors.

His call came despite no Israeli government ever confirming the presence of a local nuclear weapons program. Additionally, the country has no obligation to open to inspections because it is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), unlike, for example, Iran.

While Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said last week the Foreign Minister was just reflecting Government policy, Rudd himself pulled his comments back.

“Our position is that it is good for all states to become accessories to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and for the associated obligations to be undertaken,” he said late last Tuesday in Ramallah.

“We have always said also that Israel has somewhat unique security circumstances and we’ve also indicated over a period of time that these arrangements concerning the NPT and the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] would obviously be embraced over time, consistent with the changes in the region’s wider security environment.”

Rudd added it had been a policy of all Australian governments that Israel should join the NPT. However, shadow foreign minister Julie Bishop clarified this.

“It would be preferable of course for all nations with nuclear programs to be signatories to the NPT,” Bishop said. “This is an enormously sensitive issue for Israel,” she continued. “It is important that Israel not be alienated by clumsy diplomacy.”

Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told reporters from Jerusalem the question was not one of adhering to international regulations.

“You know, my approach is that the question is not the NPT, but whether you have a responsible country, a responsible government, or not,” Lieberman said.

He added that even though Iran is a signatory to the NPT, it continues to be an international pariah.

“They join the NPT, they are part of the NPT, and we see them every day cheating, with many attempts to waste time,” the Yisrael Beitenu leader said.

Meanwhile, during his meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Foreign Minister Riad Malki in Ramallah, Rudd announced Australia would fund Palestinian refugees to the tune of $18 million over three years. and Australian taxpayers would also fork out $20 million for a World Bank trust fund for the Palestinian Authority.

Australia will also host 50 Palestinian postgraduate students, who will be provided with scholarships to study disciplines from public administration to water management.

NAOMI LEVIN

Photo: Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd during his recent trip to Israel.