BRAZIL AND THE IAEA: AGREEMENT PENDING ON RESENDE

UNCLAS BRASILIA 002762 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KNNP PARM MNUC BR IAEA SUBJECT: BRAZIL AND THE IAEA: AGREEMENT PENDING ON RESENDE NUCLEAR ENRICHMENT FACILITY REF: BRASILIA 2621 ¶1. (SBU) Reacting to press reports concerning preliminary IAEA approval to Brazil's proposed inspection regime at the Resende nuclear enrichment facility, Ministry of External Relations (MRE) Disarmament and Sensitive Technologies (DDS) Division Chief Santiago Mourao acknowledged that the reports sounded correct, although to his knowledge the GOB had yet to receive a formal reply from the IAEA approving the inspection regime. He anticipated such a response shortly. ¶2. (SBU) Mourao again reiterated the routine and technical nature of the pending agreement on Resende, reminding poloff that Brazil already had IAEA safeguards agreements on 35 other domestic nuclear facilities. Many of the very technical issues at Resende, Mourao confessed, were understandable only by the experts. Following months of intensive negotiations, the October IAEA visit to Resende, he understood, dealt primarily with mundane technical matters. Despite the overwhelming political attention, the GOB and the IAEA officials involved with the process were experienced enough to know how to reach closure. Unfortunately, costs associated with such IAEA inspections have gone up substantially in recent years -- a problem both the GOB and the Agency recognized and are seeking to address, Mourao noted. Danilovich