ANALYSIS-Obama boosts nuclear talks, split remains
* Agenda agreed for 2010 meeting to overhaul nuclear pact
* Iran, U.S. praised for being constructive
* Developing nations say rich states have nuclear monopoly
By Louis Charbonneau
UNITED NATIONS, May 15 (Reuters) - Talks on reforming a 1970 nuclear arms treaty ended on Friday with signs of progress due to President Barack Obama's vow to reduce the U.S. arsenal, but the wide chasm between rich and poor states remains.
A two-week conference at U.N. headquarters on the landmark nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty defied expectations last week when the 189 signatories unanimously agreed an agenda for the next major review next year.
The arms control pact has been hobbled by bickering between Western nations, which want to limit the spread of nuclear weapons, and the developing world, which says the big powers are not serious about reducing their nuclear stockpiles.
Delegates hope to adopt a plan to overhaul the NPT at the conference in 2010. The West wants to fix loopholes that have enabled Iran, North Korea and others to legally develop the capability to produce atomic bombs, while poor nations want to know when the big nuclear powers will disarm.
The latest conference was the first time in years that the NPT signatories, polarized after former U.S. President George W. Bush backed out of previous disarmament pledges, had reached an agreement.
Obama sent a message to the conference in which he reiterated his vow to take new steps to cut nuclear weapons while urging delegations to bridge differences on strengthening the treaty. Many delegates said it helped break years of deadlock at NPT meetings.
The last review in 2005 was a failure. The Bush administration focused on Iran and North Korea's presumed nuclear ambitions and Tehran condemned the big powers' failure to disarm. Egypt pointed to Israel's alleged nuclear weapons.
Analysts and diplomats said the latest conference ended positively even though there was no consensus on how to improve the treaty. They also said Iran, Egypt and Washington had been constructive.
"All of those countries demonstrated real flexibility where it mattered," said Rebecca Johnson, head of the London-based Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy think-tank.
'POSITIVE ATMOSPHERE'
Diplomats noted that Tehran had joined the consensus and backed the agenda for next year's conference.
Tehran denies Western allegations that it is developing atomic weapons and says it only wants nuclear power. Obama has offered direct talks with Iran on its nuclear program and other issues but Tehran has reacted coolly to his overtures.
"This was a different Iran," Johnson said. She also played down the failure to agree recommendations for the 2010 conference, saying it was better not to lock states into anything before Obama's nuclear policy review is completed.
Among the delegates who praised Obama was the chairman of the conference, Ambassador Boniface Chidyausiku of Zimbabwe. He said the U.S. delegation helped create a "positive atmosphere" at talks that have been divisive over the last decade.
"They have been more constructive and we have been able to do it (adopt an agenda)," he said. "If the same spirit can be translated into next year's review conference we are likely to see a more positive outcome than we have in the past."
Although Iran supported the agenda for the 2010 review, it used the latest NPT meeting to hammer away at what it said was the developed world's nuclear monopoly.
The Iranian delegation repeatedly criticized the United States for supporting Israel and India's nuclear programs, describing aid to NPT holdouts as a violation of the treaty.
Israel, like nuclear powers India and Pakistan, has never signed the NPT. North Korea withdrew from it in 2003 and tested a nuclear device in 2006.
Iran also attacked the United States, France and Britain for reneging on previous nuclear disarmament commitments and for denying it and other nations access to nuclear technology on the pretext of combating nuclear proliferation.
Egypt and Indonesia and other developing states echoed Iran's complaints about U.S. support for Israel and India.
Several diplomats complained that France and China appeared to be balking at the idea of disarmament, unlike the United States and Britain.
But France and China backed an upbeat joint public statement issued at the end of the conference along with the other official nuclear powers -- the United States, Britain, Russia -- that emphasized the need for disarmament. (Editing by Paul Simao)
* Iran, U.S. praised for being constructive
* Developing nations say rich states have nuclear monopoly
By Louis Charbonneau
UNITED NATIONS, May 15 (Reuters) - Talks on reforming a 1970 nuclear arms treaty ended on Friday with signs of progress due to President Barack Obama's vow to reduce the U.S. arsenal, but the wide chasm between rich and poor states remains.
A two-week conference at U.N. headquarters on the landmark nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty defied expectations last week when the 189 signatories unanimously agreed an agenda for the next major review next year.
The arms control pact has been hobbled by bickering between Western nations, which want to limit the spread of nuclear weapons, and the developing world, which says the big powers are not serious about reducing their nuclear stockpiles.
Delegates hope to adopt a plan to overhaul the NPT at the conference in 2010. The West wants to fix loopholes that have enabled Iran, North Korea and others to legally develop the capability to produce atomic bombs, while poor nations want to know when the big nuclear powers will disarm.
The latest conference was the first time in years that the NPT signatories, polarized after former U.S. President George W. Bush backed out of previous disarmament pledges, had reached an agreement.
Obama sent a message to the conference in which he reiterated his vow to take new steps to cut nuclear weapons while urging delegations to bridge differences on strengthening the treaty. Many delegates said it helped break years of deadlock at NPT meetings.
The last review in 2005 was a failure. The Bush administration focused on Iran and North Korea's presumed nuclear ambitions and Tehran condemned the big powers' failure to disarm. Egypt pointed to Israel's alleged nuclear weapons.
Analysts and diplomats said the latest conference ended positively even though there was no consensus on how to improve the treaty. They also said Iran, Egypt and Washington had been constructive.
"All of those countries demonstrated real flexibility where it mattered," said Rebecca Johnson, head of the London-based Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy think-tank.
'POSITIVE ATMOSPHERE'
Diplomats noted that Tehran had joined the consensus and backed the agenda for next year's conference.
Tehran denies Western allegations that it is developing atomic weapons and says it only wants nuclear power. Obama has offered direct talks with Iran on its nuclear program and other issues but Tehran has reacted coolly to his overtures.
"This was a different Iran," Johnson said. She also played down the failure to agree recommendations for the 2010 conference, saying it was better not to lock states into anything before Obama's nuclear policy review is completed.
Among the delegates who praised Obama was the chairman of the conference, Ambassador Boniface Chidyausiku of Zimbabwe. He said the U.S. delegation helped create a "positive atmosphere" at talks that have been divisive over the last decade.
"They have been more constructive and we have been able to do it (adopt an agenda)," he said. "If the same spirit can be translated into next year's review conference we are likely to see a more positive outcome than we have in the past."
Although Iran supported the agenda for the 2010 review, it used the latest NPT meeting to hammer away at what it said was the developed world's nuclear monopoly.
The Iranian delegation repeatedly criticized the United States for supporting Israel and India's nuclear programs, describing aid to NPT holdouts as a violation of the treaty.
Israel, like nuclear powers India and Pakistan, has never signed the NPT. North Korea withdrew from it in 2003 and tested a nuclear device in 2006.
Iran also attacked the United States, France and Britain for reneging on previous nuclear disarmament commitments and for denying it and other nations access to nuclear technology on the pretext of combating nuclear proliferation.
Egypt and Indonesia and other developing states echoed Iran's complaints about U.S. support for Israel and India.
Several diplomats complained that France and China appeared to be balking at the idea of disarmament, unlike the United States and Britain.
But France and China backed an upbeat joint public statement issued at the end of the conference along with the other official nuclear powers -- the United States, Britain, Russia -- that emphasized the need for disarmament. (Editing by Paul Simao)
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