Shimon Peres calls on Israel’s Arab neighbours to establish “a broad arms control dialogue”

In his speech at the signing ceremony of the Chemical Weapons Convention, Foreign Minister Peres outlined steps to establish regional security and the construction of a mutually verifiable zone, free of surface-to-surface missiles and of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. In February 1993, Egypt approached Israel with a proposal to hold arms control talks on verification issues and to discuss Peres’ arms control initiative. As a follow up, the IAEA held a workshop on the Modalities for the Application of Safeguards in a future nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East in May 1993 and regional states met in Cairo in July 1993 for a verification workshop as part of the Arms Control and Regional Security Working Group.

Photo credit: UN Photo/Michel Claude

UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali in Paris for the signing of the Chemical Weapons Treaty. January 13, 1991