US, EU urge Syria to cooperate with UN probe of suspicious nuclear activities

US, EU, urge Syria to drop nuclear secrecy

VIENNA — The U.S. and the European Union are urging Syria to stop stonewalling attempts by the International Atomic Energy Agency to investigate its nuclear activities.

A U.S. statement to the IAEA’s 35-nation board on Thursday said Syrian nuclear sites that seem to be intended for “non-peaceful purposes” are matters of serious concern. The EU statement expressed similar sentiments.

Syria insists it has nothing to hide but has turned down repeated IAEA requests to visit suspicious sites and provide satisfactory explanations for unusual traces of uranium at those locations.

One of the sites was bombed in 2007 by Israel. The U.S. says it was a nearly finished nuclear reactor meant to produce plutonium.