| The peace prize will be divided in half by the agency and its director The International Peace Prize was awarded to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its Director General, Egyptian Muhammad ElBaradei. The decision was a recognition that in recent years the agency has played an important role not only in technical issues related to nuclear energy, but also in world politics.
The IAEA has existed since 1957 and includes 139 countries. Mr ElBaradei became head of the IAEA in 1997, succeeding Swede Hans Blix. On the eve of the US invasion of Iraq in March 2003, ElBaradei argued that Baghdad had no secret programs aimed at creating nuclear weapons. The head of the IAEA is also reserved about accusations against Iran. His reports on Tehran's nuclear programs have repeatedly disappointed Washington, which is convinced that Iran is seeking to obtain nuclear weapons.
Such independence of the IAEA Director General almost cost him his post. Since the end of last year, Washington has been trying to prevent his re-election to a third term, but backed down from his plans, finding himself in a clear minority.
In the decision of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, some saw a lesson for the Americans: in the modern world, problems cannot be solved by force. Moscow did not hide its satisfaction with this choice. Russian Presidential Assistant Sergei Prikhodko called the decision of the Nobel Committee “exceptionally correct.” “Russia has always cooperated with Muhammad ElBaradei; we have always supported and will support his reports, conclusions and approaches,” Mr. Prikhodko emphasized. And the head of Rosatom, Alexander Rumyantsev, expressed the opinion to Vremya Novostei that member countries of the agency, especially such active ones as Russia, helped the IAEA and its director general to earn such a high assessment of the activities of the IAEA.
Indeed, Mr. ElBaradei's calls to solve the world's most complex problems without hasty action are fully shared by Moscow.
The example of Iran serves as an indicator. Russia tried to the last to prevent the adoption at the last IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna on September 24 of a resolution making it possible to transfer the “Iranian nuclear dossier” to the UN Security Council, with the prospect of imposing sanctions against Tehran. The IAEA Director General was also against the adoption of such a resolution. Nevertheless, he and his agency are now seeking Iran to stop work related to uranium enrichment.
The day before the Nobel committee's decision, Mr. ElBaradei was in Moscow. Despite the private nature of the visit, he met with both the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergei Lavrov, and the head of Rosatom, Alexander Rumyantsev. Among others, the question of how to resolve the crisis around Iran through diplomacy was also discussed. 63-year-old Muhammad ElBaradei's diplomatic experience helps him solve complex problems through negotiations - he worked for 20 years at the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, and in 1984 he moved to the IAEA.
Muhammad ElBaradei awaited the Nobel committee's decision in front of the TV at his home in Vienna with his wife Aida. She teaches at the International School in Vienna. They have an adult son and daughter. The $1.29 million prize will be awarded on December 10 in Oslo. It will be divided equally between Mr. ElBaradei and the IAEA. The Peace Prize has been awarded since 1901. This time, 199 candidates applied for it. Among the outsiders were Tony Blair and George Bush (the Norwegian parliamentarian nominated them for their “contribution to the fight against terrorism”), Viktor Yushchenko and Mikheil Saakashvili (they were nominated by US senators Hillary Clinton and John McCain for their “extraordinary commitment to peace”). But ElBaradei and the IAEA were considered the main contenders for the prize. Among the favorites were the Americans Senator Richard Lugar and former Senator Sam Nunn (for the program to destroy Russia's nuclear stockpiles), the Japanese Confederation of Nuclear Bomb Victims and the Finn Martti Ahtisaari, who mediated negotiations between the authorities and separatists on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Andrey ZLOBIN |
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