    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
    [May 29, 1991]
    [Pages 579-581]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    White House Fact Sheet on the Middle East Arms Control Initiative
    May 29, 1991

        Fulfilling the pledge he made in his March 6 address to a joint
    session of Congress, the President announced today a series of proposals
    intended to curb the spread of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons
    in the Middle East, as well as the missiles that can deliver them. The
    proposals also seek to restrain destabilizing conventional arms build-
    ups in the region.
        The proposals would apply to the entire Middle East, including Iraq,
    Iran, Libya, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and
    the other states of the Maghreb and the Gulf Cooperation Council. They
    reflect our consultations with allies, governments in the region, and
    key suppliers of arms and technology.
        The support of both arms exporters and importers will be essential
    to the success of the initiative. Since proliferation is a
    global problem, it must find a global solution. At the same time, the
    current situation in the Middle East poses unique dangers and
    opportunities. Thus, the President's proposal will concentrate on the
    Middle East as its starting point while complementing other initiatives
    such as those
    taken by Prime Ministers John Major and Brian Mulroney. It includes the
    following elements.

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    Supplier Restraint

        The initiative calls on the five major suppliers of conventional
    arms to meet at senior levels in the near future to discuss the
    establishment of guidelines for restraints on destabilizing transfers of
    conventional arms as well as weapons of mass destruction and associated
    technology. France has agreed to host the initial meeting. (The United
    Kingdom, France, the Soviet Union, China, and the United States have
    supplied the vast majority of the conventional arms exported to the
    Middle East in the last decade.) At the same time, these guidelines will
    permit states in the region to acquire the conventional capabilities
    they legitimately need to deter and defend against military aggression.
        These discussions will be expanded to include other suppliers in
    order to obtain the broadest possible cooperation. The London summit of
    the G-7, to be hosted by the British in July, will provide an early
    opportunity to begin to engage other governments.
        To implement this regime, the suppliers would commit:
        --to observe a general code of responsible arms transfers;
        --to avoid destabilizing transfers; and
        --to establish effective domestic export controls on the end-use of
            arms or other items to be transferred.
        The guidelines will include a mechanism for consultations among
    suppliers, who would:
        --notify one another in advance of certain arms sales;
        --meet regularly to consult on arms transfers;
        --consult on an ad hoc basis if a supplier believed guidelines were
            not being observed; and
        --provide one another with an annual report on transfers.

    Missiles

        The initiative proposes a freeze on the acquisition, production, and
    testing of surface-to-surface missiles by states in the region with a
    view to the ultimate elimination of such missiles from their arsenals.
        Suppliers would also step up efforts to coordinate export licensing
    for equipment, technology, and services that could be used to
    manufacture surface-to-surface missiles. Export licenses would be
    provided only for peaceful end uses.

    Nuclear Weapons

        The initiative builds on existing institutions and focuses on
    activities directly related to nuclear weapons capability. The
    initiative would:
        --call on regional states to implement a verifiable ban on the
            production and acquisition of weapons-usable nuclear material
            (enriched uranium or separated plutonium);
        --reiterate our call on all states in the region that have not
            already done so to accede to the nonproliferation treaty;
        --reiterate our call to place all nuclear facilities in the region
            under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards; and
        --continue to support the eventual creation of a regional nuclear
            weapon-free zone.

    Chemical Weapons

        The proposal will build on the President's recent initiative to
    achieve early completion of the global chemical weapons convention.
        The initiative calls for all states in the region to commit to
    becoming original parties to the convention.
        Given the history of possession and use of chemical weapons in the
    region, the initiative also calls for regional states to institute
    confidence-building measures now by engaging in presignature
    implementation of appropriate chemical weapons convention provisions.

    Biological Weapons

        As with the approach to chemical weapon controls, the proposals
    build on an existing global approach. The initiative would:
        --call for strengthening the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention
            (BWC) through full implementation of existing BWC provisions and
            an improved mechanism for information exchange. These measures
            will be pursued at the 5-year Review Conference of the BWC this
            September;

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        --urge regional states to adopt biological weapons confidence-
            building measures.
        This initiative complements our continuing support for the
    continuation of the U.N. Security Council embargo against arms transfers
    to Iraq as well as the efforts of the U.N. Special Commission to
    eliminate Iraq's remaining capabilities to use or produce nuclear,
    chemical, and biological weapons and the missiles to deliver them.

                        Note: The fact sheet referred to Prime Minister John
                            Major of the United Kingdom and Prime Minister
                            Brian Mulroney of Canada.