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'US spreading false nuclear allegations'
Syria criticized the United States on Tuesday, accusing it of spreading "false" claims of Syrian nuclear activity and cooperation with North Korea to excuse an alleged Israeli air incursion over the country this month. A front-page editorial in the government newspaper Tishrin also was critical of Washington for failing to condemn the alleged September 6 Israeli incursion, which it called a violation of international law. Details of the so-called incursion remain unclear. US officials have reportedly said Israeli warplanes struck a target. A senior US non-proliferation official said last week that North Korean personnel were in Syria helping its nuclear program, raising speculation that the Israelis were targeting a nuclear installation. North Korea on Tuesday vehemently denied it secretly helped Syria develop a nuclear program, claiming the charge was fabricated by US hardliners to block progress in the North's relations with the United States. Damascus has also denied any nuclear cooperation with North Korea. The editorial in Tishrin, which reflects Syrian government thinking in a country where the press is tightly controlled, said the US accusations reflect Washington's pro-Israel bias and have no credibility. "Of course, none of the American officials said that the aerial piracy committed by Israel was illegal and was a flagrant aggression against the sovereignty of a state, because they disregard international law whenever they want when it comes to Israel," the Syrian newspaper said. It said Washington was "busy circulating claims on Israel's behalf" that the incursion involved "possible nuclear facilities supplied by (North) Korea." Posted by: Fred 2007-09-19 |
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