Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger told the Senate yesterday that nuclear plants being considered for Israel and Egypt by the United States will be provided “under safeguards more stringent than anywhere else.”
He made that statement before the Senate Government Operations Committee where he testified on the proliferation of nuclear power and weaponry. Sen. Charles Percy (R.Ill.) asked him about the state of negotiations with Egypt which were initiated last November when President Anwar Sadat was in Washington. Percy mentioned that some thought the delivery of plants to the Middle East might be “reckless policy.”
Kissinger replied that U.S. arrangements with Egypt “and Israel for that matter” under the “tentative agreements” provide safeguards that include a ban on storing plutonium in either country and a prohibition on reprocessing in those countries: Referring to the Egyptian reactor, Kissinger said “the actual agreement is still under negotiation” and he could not project when it will be concluded.
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