The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency decided, on Wednesday, to close the file related to Syria’s failure to fulfill its obligations, after years of remaining before the agency since 2011.
Diplomats told Agence France-Presse that the decision was approved unanimously without an official vote, ending the measures that began against Syria about 15 years ago.
A few days ago, Damascus confirmed its full commitment to cooperation and transparency with the International Atomic Energy Agency, calling for the “non-compliance” clause to be lifted and the file closed during the Board of Governors meetings.
During an official briefing before representatives and ambassadors of the agency’s member states in Vienna, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Syrian Atomic Energy Authority presented the measures taken by Damascus to address the issue.
These measures included voluntarily declaring previously undeclared nuclear materials and subjecting them to international safeguards and oversight.
The Syrian authorities also announced the opening of the Deir ez-Zor site to the International Atomic Energy Agency after more than 18 years, in addition to showing them another undeclared site containing nuclear materials.
The head of the Syrian Atomic Energy Commission, Mudar Al-Okla, confirmed that Damascus provided technical and logistical facilities to the agency, and allowed it to conduct verification and inspection operations.
He pointed out that the Syrian authorities worked to find information and relevant nuclear materials, and subjected the discovered materials to safeguards and oversight under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The “non-compliance” file dates back to 2011, when the agency adopted this description because Syria did not declare a suspected nuclear reactor in Deir ez-Zor, and did not provide the required information about it.
A confidential report by the International Atomic Energy Agency indicated that about 73 tons of natural uranium were found at one of the sites, including 55 tons in the form of fuel rods, and about 18 tons of uranium scrap and waste.
