A deadlocked UN nuclear conference was to consider Thursday a new draft document that could resolve a stalemate that has blocked moves on the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) for a decade, diplomats said.

A solution of the diplomatic battles that have set the world's nuclear haves against the have-nots may come in a text that lays out action plans for disarmament, verifies nuclear programs to keep them peaceful and promotes the civilian use of atomic energy.

"The text is to be presented later today to a plenary," a western diplomat said.

The plenary must approve the text within 24 hours, since the month-long conference on improving the 189-nation NPT is due to end at 6 pm (2200 GMT) Friday.

The NPT conference at UN headquarters in New York has been deadlocked, raising fears of a repeat of the disaster of the previous NPT gathering in 2005 when there was no agreement and no final text.

The NPT is in crisis over how to monitor suspect nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea, and how to get nuclear weapons states to honor their treaty promise to move towards disarmament.

Nuclear powers and non-nuclear-weapon states, represented by the non-aligned movement, clashed here Wednesday over how to get rid of atomic arms.

Non-aligned states suggested some 200 amendments to a 28-page draft final statement, particularly to get nuclear weapon states to accept the principle of putting a time limit on achieving disarmament, diplomats told AFP.

Nuclear powers Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States reject this.

At stake is a reaffirmation of the validity of the NPT treaty, which since 1970 has set the global agenda for fighting the spread of nuclear weapons.

Approval of a final text would not be a cure-all for the world's nuclear proliferation problems, but it would mark a new tone of cooperation.

It also would be a success for US President Barack Obama's ambitious non-proliferation agenda which favors multilateral diplomacy and is a marked departure from the confrontational tactics of his predecessor George W. Bush.

earlier related report
'Lack of trust' in Iran behind UN showdown: Ban
Rio De Janeiro (AFP) May 27, 2010 - UN chief Ban Ki-moon said Thursday a lack of trust toward Iran underpins the showdown in the UN Security Council over its controversial nuclear program.

"This crisis, it seems to me that there is a serious lack of optimism and trust towards Iran in its core," he told the start of a UN conference on the Alliance of Civilizations being held in Rio de Janeiro.

"Iran has said it would continue the process to enrich uranium at 20 percent, and that has caused serious concern among the international community," he said.

"It would be helpful if Iran agreed to stop trying to enrich uranium at 20 percent."

The United States and its European allies believe Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of its atomic energy program. Tehran denies that.

"I think we all agree that the Iranian nuclear issue has become one of the critical sources of concern and tension within the international community," Ban said, without referring to a US draft resolution before the UN Security Council calling for further sanctions against Iran.

Ban said the United Nations appreciated a recent attempt by Brazil and Turkey -- both temporary UN Security Council members -- to commit Iran to deposit around half of its uranium stock in Turkey in exchange for 20-percent enriched nuclear fuel.

Although Tehran agreed to that May 17 deal brokered by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Washington has dismissed it as insufficient because of Tehran's insistence to keep enriching the rest of its stock.

"I really appreciate and recognize the diplomatic efforts by President Lula and Prime Minister Erdogan to resolve this issue with peaceful negotiation," Ban said.

"There are different opinions about the approaches and possibilities concerning this issue," he said, adding that the Brazil-Turkey deal "could be a positive step" towards a negotiated solution.

Lula's administration is furious that its deal with Iran has been effectively shelved, and is arguing that it should be taken into consideration before sanctions are decided.

The daily Folha de Sao Paulo reported Thursday that US President Barack Obama had even sent a letter to Lula three weeks ago, before the deal was struck, suggesting negotiation points with Tehran.

Obama said that while he "would keep a door open to a compromise with Iran," he also warned he would simultaneously push forward with the UN resolution for sanctions against Tehran, the newspaper said.

Although the Brazilian government has refused to confirm the authenticity of the apparently leaked letter, Lula has insisted that the Tehran deal largely addressed the demands made by the United States months ago.