UN watchdog formally ends probe into Assad-era nuclear sites
The vote follows last month's visit by international inspectors to two suspected former nuclear sites in Syria.
The United Nations nuclear watchdog on Wednesday formally ended its probe against Syria for suspected nuclear work that began under its former president, Bashar al-Assad.
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors unanimously voted to terminate a 2011 resolution that found Syria was "noncompliant" with its nonproliferation obligations, two unnamed diplomats told Agence France-Presse of the closed-door decision.
The new resolution, which was sponsored by member states Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Saudi Arabia, "encourages Syria to continue its cooperation with the agency, including the excavation work at the Deir Ezzor site."
Syrian Atomic Energy Commission chief Mudar Akel called Wednesday’s decision by the 35-member board a “historic achievement” that followed Syria’s fulfillment of “all comprehensive technical and legal requirements.”
