HAARETZ: The United States and Egypt are negotiating a proposal that would make the Middle East a nuclear-free zone, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, saying the effort was a meant to prevent Iran from disrupting an upcoming UN conference on nuclear nonproliferation.
U.S. officials told the Wall Street Journal that the move could be a significant step toward showing that Washington, who is often criticized of overlooking Israel's reported nuclear arsenal, could be even handed in its attempt to ensure the Middle East is free of nuclear weapons.
"We've made a proposal to them [Egypt] that goes beyond what the U.S. has been willing to do before," senior U.S. officials told the WSJ, adding that they didn't believe that would happen without first achieving major advances in Arab-Israeli peace talks. >>> Haaretz Service | Saturday, May 01, 2010
