Arab states want area free of mass-destruction weapons

The Arab technical committee in charge of drawing the draft regional treaty to make the Mediterranean a region free from weapons of mass destruction will hold on February 15 a meeting at the headquarters of the Arab League with the participation of political and military experts from Arab states.

The AL assistant secretary for political affairs, Zakaria Ismael, said that in its two-day deliberations, the committee will discuss means of completing preparations for setting up a regional treaty which provides for making the Middle East a zone free from weapons of mass destruction, adding that this project will be a new negotiating card in the hands of the Arabs when such issues are debated in the course of efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.

Raising this issue reveals the desire of the Arabs to rid the region of weapons of mass destruction and to maintain peace, Ismael said.