VIENNA — Israel and Arab nations have tentatively accepted an invitation by the U.N. nuclear agency to discuss a Middle East free of atomic arms, in correspondence shared with The Associated Press.
Whether the meeting takes place may depend on the participants’ willingness to compromise on preconditions.
An official from a delegation accredited to the International Atomic Energy agency says IAEA chief Yukiya Amano planned to meet with the Arab group on Sept. 5 to try and bridge differences.
But he and members of other delegations describe the chances of success as possibly the best since 2000. That was when IAEA nations asked the agency to convene such talks.
Israel is commonly considered to be the only Middle East nations with nuclear weapons.
The officials asked for anonymity because their information is confidential.
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