FM: Egypt is not violating NPT

Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul -Gheit said yesterday that Egypt is committed to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Abul -Gheit, was responding to press reports attributed to a source in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) claiming that Egypt, a signatory of the NPT, was concealing a secret nuclear program.

"Such reports are completely groundless, "said Abul -Gheit in his press statements.

On his part, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said that Egypt has a peaceful nuclear programme aiming at generating electricity and desalinating water.

The Cabinet Spokesman Magdy Radi said Egypt does not seek to possess a nuclear programme for military purposes.

The Spokesman for IAEA declined to comment on the alleged secret program.

The State Department Spokesman Adam Ereli refused to confirm or deny the allegations. He said the American administration expected all world countries to cooperate with IAEA.

He said that Washington's experience with Cairo affirmed that Egypt is a responsible country and a member of NPT.

The Washington Post and the Associated Press quoted diplomats in Vienna as saying that Egypt tried to produce uranium hexafluoride which can be enriched to produce nuclear heads.

The diplomats claimed that the Egyptians "tried to produce various components of uranium" without declaring it to the IAEA, as they were bound to under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The products included several pounds of uranium metal and uranium tetrafluoride- a precursor to uranium hexaflurida gas, the diplomat said on condition of anonymity, they alleged.

According to the diplomats allegations, most of the work was apparently done before 1982, when Egypt signed a safeguards agreement with the IAEA, opening itself from that point on to inspections.

It is was not clear whether or not the timing of these allegations is intended to interfere with Egypt's bid to win a permenant seat at the UN Security Council.