Consensus Sought at Biological Weapons Talks
Global Security Newswire
A Japanese official said yesterday that diplomats from countries involved in talks in Tokyo on the Biological Weapons Convention are close to agreeing that inspections are not an efficient way to control materials covered by the treaty, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Feb. 15).
The inspections issue was the focus of the informal talks that ended yesterday, which were meant to prepare for the next treaty review conference beginning in November in Geneva.
“Although there were some differences in opinions of participants, the overall direction of the talks was that it needs to be recognized that there is a limited efficiency in inspection,” the Japanese official said. “There was a sense of crisis in the Tokyo conference that if people fail to agree on anything, the credibility of the BWC will be lost.”
The Bush administration has maintained that allowing inspections would compromise trade secrets and security (Agence France-Presse, Feb. 15).
