DUTCH RESPONSE TO IAEA ARAB-ISRAELI DISPUTE

1. (C) PolOff delivered reftel demarche on the IAEA
Arab-Israeli dispute at the General Conference (Ref A) to
Dutch MFA Deputy Head of Nuclear Affairs and Nonproliferation
Division Peter Potman. During the demarche, the MFA received
a call from its delegation in Vienna saying the EU had just
reached a consensus to abstain on the "Israeli Nuclear
Capacities and Threat" resolution. The Dutch are just as
displeased with the Arab Group's decision to table the
"Israeli Nuclear Capabilities and Threat" resolution as the
U.S., and hope the previous arrangement will hold. Before
the phone call, Potman said the primary goal was a united EU
position and he believed it could only be achieved by
abstention. He cautioned that it may be more difficult to
get the Arab countries on board for the IAEA meeting in
November on Iran.



2. (C) Potman said the Dutch position on the "Application of
Safeguards in the Middle East" resolution is not the same as
that of the U.S. The Dutch recently voted in favor of UN
Resolution 57/97, "The Risk of Nuclear Proliferation in the
Middle East," which is stronger than the Safeguards
resolution. If the "Application of Safeguards in the Middle
East" resolution is put to a vote, the Dutch will in all
likelihood vote in favor of it, but are still undecided.
Potman noted Dutch support for UN Resolution 57/97 makes it
difficult for them to veto or abstain from the Safeguards
resolution, which the Dutch believe is a good resolution.
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