Israel, Syria eye nuclear power plants

PARIS — Israel and Syria are separately eyeing plans to develop nuclear power to meet the energy needs of the volatile Middle East, ministers told a conference hosted by France on Tuesday to promote reactors.Israel unveiled hopeful plans to work with its Arab neighbours to build a joint nuclear plant in a project that the country's infrastructure minister said would serve the entire region and advance peace."Nuclear energy can be an area of regional cooperation with the objective of promoting peace," Uzi Landau told the Paris conference.Syria, which has been investigated by the UN nuclear watchdog over its alleged attempt to build a secret nuclear reactor, also said it would like to develop atomic energy.Damascus needs "to consider alternative sources of energy, including nuclear energy," said Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad.French President Nicolas Sarkozy opened the conference on Monday with a call for many more countries to adopt nuclear power to produce electricity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ease pressure on energy prices.Israel has already chosen a site for the nuclear reactor -- its first to be put to civilian energy use -- in the northern part of the Negev desert, said Israeli minister Landau.Israel has two nuclear reactors, one near the southeast city of Dimona that is widely believed to be used to produce atomic weapons, and a second research reactor at Nahal Soreq near Tel Aviv.The Jewish state is widely reported to have nuclear weapons but refuses to confirm or deny this, pursuing a policy of "nuclear ambiguity."Israeli officials said Monday the new plant would be a joint project between Israel and Jordan -- one of only two Arab countries to have signed a peace deal with Israel -- and that France would supervise and provide technology."Naturally any nuclear power plant to be built in Israel will be subject to all the international safeguards," said Landau.But Syria's bid to join the nuclear club will cause more international concern, given the regime's close ties with Ira

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