UK-France military deal includes nuclear material transfers
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
London, Dec 1, IRNA -- Britain’s Defence Secretary Liam Fox has confirmed that last month’s military agreement with France includes transfers of nuclear material between the two countries but denies it breaches the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
“Some small amounts of nuclear materials will be transferred by military flights between the UK and France but there will be no transfer of ownership between the two states,” Fox said.
“Any necessary movements of nuclear materials between the UK and France in support of hydrodynamics experimentation will be conducted under the appropriate safety and regulatory regimes,” he told MPs.
In a written parliamentary reply, published on Wednesday, he insisted that the transfer “will be consistent with our international treaty obligations.”
Following the signing of the 50-year cooperation agreement, Foreign Office Minister Alistair Birt also denied that there was any breach of the NPT.
“The arrangement with the French is entirely consistent with our obligations under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty,” Birt said.
'It is designed to ensure that we safeguard the reliability and maintenance of our nuclear weapons stockpile, and it makes sense.”
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) has already cautioned the UK government on its compliance with Article One of the NPT, which expressly forbids transfers in relation to nuclear explosive devices.
“It is vital that this treaty is scrutinised in the light of Article 1. But the fundamental point that both Britain and France have to recognise and act upon is that the NPT - to which they are signatories - requires both of them to disarm,” CND chair Kate Hudson said.
Under the agreement, Britain will ship its 160 'Trident' strategic nuclear missiles to France for maintenance and repair, while the two countries will work together to simulate nuclear tests.
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