Military balance, ME peace safety valve

"Egypt launched a call for new security arrangements in the Middle East to ensure military balance," said Egypt's permanent delegate to UN ambassador Ahmed Abul-Ghiet.

"Egypt wants to ensure a high and equal level of armament in the Middle East through a call to free the region from all weapons of mass destruction," Abul-Gheit said.

In a 90-minute closed-circuit television interview with a group of US university students, he said the call is an attempt to eliminate any element of tension and to back the Middle East peace process.

"Israel is the only country in the region that did not join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)," he said, adding that the Middle East security is an indispensable part of the international security.

"Israel shows contradiction in dealing with the nuclear issue. Although it supported the United Nations General Assembly resolution to set up a nuke-free zone. It still rejects to join the NPT and ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and keeps a large nuclear arsenal," he said.

Abul-Gheit refuted the Israeli nuclear deterrence policy which entails producing an anti-deterrence policy, thus, forcing other countries in the region to enter a race to own nukes. "This policy did not impede Egypt from rushing into a war back in 1973 against Israel and restoring its territories," he said.

Abul-Gheit reiterated that security arrangements in the region are needed in the Middle East to ensure qualitative, strategic and conventional military balance.