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Brazil Says Deal on IAEA Inspections Close; Diplomats Say Refusals Annoy Agency
A top Brazilian official said yesterday his country is close to an agreement to allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspection of a nuclear installation near Rio de Janeiro, Reuters reports (see GSN, April 15). Science and Technology Minister Eduardo Campos, after meeting yesterday with U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, said his country and the agency are close to an agreement that would allow thorough inspections at the Resende plant while protecting Brazilian technology from espionage. Abraham said last week the United States trusts Brazil’s nuclear security and that the agency should resolve concerns with Brazil bilaterally (Reuters/Yahoo!Noticias, April 19, GSN translation). Meanwhile, diplomats said Brazilian decisions to bar full access to the plant have annoyed rather than worried agency officials, according to Associated Press. “It’s not a question of suspecting that Brazil has a covert nuclear weapons program,” one diplomat said. “It’s more a question of principle,” he added. Another diplomat said Brazil’s argument that it needs to protect industrial secrets is worrisome in light of other ongoing inspections, such as the agency’s Iran work. The diplomat said other countries could see Brazil’s refusals as a precedent (George Jahn, AP/CNN.com, April 20).
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