Syria opens site to U.N. atom probe

By Mark Heinrich

VIENNA (Reuters) - Syria gave U.N. investigators a good look at the site of what Washington says was a secret nuclear reactor before Israel destroyed it, but initial checks were inconclusive and more are needed, they said on Wednesday.

Chief U.N. inspector Olli Heinonen said his team was able to take extensive environmental samples at the remote desert location and the sensitive inquiry was off to "a good start", with Syria's cooperation generally satisfactory at this stage.

Heinonen, speaking to reporters on his return to Vienna after four days in Syria, said it was "too early" to draw conclusions about the nature of the site, bombed by Israel last September, and follow-up investigations could take some time.

Syria denies hiding anything from U.N. inspectors, saying Israel destroyed an ordinary military building and accusing the United States of spreading disinformation.

Heinonen said his team gathered environmental samples of "quite a lot of things" in search of traces of material that might point to what Washington said was a nascent, plutonium-making reactor before it was flattened.

"To a great extent, we achieved what we wanted ... and agreed to do ... on this first trip," said Heinonen, the International Atomic Energy Agency's deputy director-general in charge of non-proliferation inspections worldwide.

Pressed on whether his three-man team was able to see what it wanted to check and speak to relevant Syrian officials despite diplomatic reports its room for inquiry would be severely restricted, he said: "Yes, quite a lot. But there is still work that remains to be done. It will take a while.

The IAEA dispatched Heinonen's team after receiving U.S. photos of the al-Kibar site that prompted the U.N. watchdog to put Syria on its nuclear proliferation watch list in April.

SOME ANALYSTS SUSPECT SYRIAN COVER-UP

U.S. nuclear analysts say satellite images show the Syrians had removed debris and constructed a new building at the site destroyed by Israel in what they see as a possible cover-up.

The initial scope of the inquiry was limited by what diplomats said was Syria's refusal to let the inspectors search three other sites for any evidence of a source of fuel for the reactor, or relevant processing equipment.

Syria denied access on national security grounds, asserting such sites were conventional military bases only and off-limits.

Asked about other sites of IAEA interest, Heinonen said: "That (issue) will be something to deal with later."

He said he did not know how long it would take to get results from the environmental samples.

But the IAEA's inspectorate is expected to issue a detailed report on findings in Syria to the agency's 35-nation Board of Governors before its next meeting in September.