Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04KUWAIT1996
2004-06-28 13:38:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Kuwait
Cable title:  

(SBU) DEMARCHE DELIVERED: CWC TECHNICAL CHANGE TO

Tags:  PARM PREL LY KU CWC 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 001996 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR T, AC, NEA/ENA, EUR/UBI, EUR/WE, NEA/ARP
THE HAGUE FOR CWC DEL, ALSO FOR EMBASSY
TEL AVIV FOR DCM LEBARON

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/28/2014
TAGS: PARM PREL LY KU CWC
SUBJECT: (SBU) DEMARCHE DELIVERED: CWC TECHNICAL CHANGE TO
PERMIT CONVERSION OF LIBYAN FACILITY

REF: STATE 136811

Classified By: AMBASSADOR RICHARD JONES; REASON 1.4 (B, D).

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 001996

SIPDIS

STATE FOR T, AC, NEA/ENA, EUR/UBI, EUR/WE, NEA/ARP
THE HAGUE FOR CWC DEL, ALSO FOR EMBASSY
TEL AVIV FOR DCM LEBARON

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/28/2014
TAGS: PARM PREL LY KU CWC
SUBJECT: (SBU) DEMARCHE DELIVERED: CWC TECHNICAL CHANGE TO
PERMIT CONVERSION OF LIBYAN FACILITY

REF: STATE 136811

Classified By: AMBASSADOR RICHARD JONES; REASON 1.4 (B, D).


1. (C) A/DCM joined the British, Italian and Libyan DCMs in
delivering reftel demarche June 28 on MFA Acting Director of
Legal Affairs Ghanem al-Ghanem. Ghanem promised to contact
the Kuwaiti OPCW Executive Council delegation urgently (it
had just left for The Hague that morning) and to put the
matter to the Undersecretary for decision the same day. A
lawyer from the Legal Dept. who sat in on the meeting
examined Article XV paragraphs 4 and 5 and offered the
opinion that the proposed technical change is fully
consistent with those provisions. Nonetheless, given
possible objections from France and Germany, we agree with
our British and Italian colleagues that it would be useful
for USDEL to approach the Kuwaiti delegation directly, as
early as possible.


2. (C) The British and Italian instructions were identical
to ours except that theirs made no mention of including the
Libyan embassy in the joint demarche (both were perfectly
happy to take our word for it). The Libyan embassy here knew
nothing about the issue, let alone the demarche, but after
checking with Tripoli, the Libyan DCM (who is primarily the
embassy's accountant) did participate. He was concerned that
we did not have an Arabic text to present to MFA, and still
did not seem fully to grasp the issue (he appeared to believe
the "technical change" in question was to the Rabta factory
rather than to the CWC's Verification Annex). Nonetheless,
all parties appreciated that this joint demarche represented
a historic moment in the diplomatic annals of Kuwait.
JONES