ARMENIAN NUCLEAR REGULATION IN FLUX

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 000456

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR EUR/CACEN, INR AND NP/SC
DOE FOR NNSA DENNIS MEYERS
DOE FOR CHARLES WASHINGTON
NRC FOR JOHN RAMSEY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ENRG KNNP ECON AM
SUBJECT: ARMENIAN NUCLEAR REGULATION IN FLUX

REFS: A) STATE 22020 B) 02 STATE 256512


1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect
accordingly. Not for internet distribution.

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SUMMARY
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2. (SBU) On February 18, 2004, we met with Ashot
Martirosyan, the head of the Armenian Nuclear Regulatory
Agency (ANRA) to encourage Armenia to commit to the IAEA
Code of Conduct on Radioactive Sources (ref A),to follow up
on concerns about the discovery of a radioactive source
found by the customs service at the Iranian border, and to
inquire about the status and of ANRA after its
reorganization under the Ministry of Nature Protection
(MNP)(ref B). Martirosyan said that he believed that the
government intended to commit in writing to the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Code of Conduct,
confirmed that GOAM customs authorities found and seized an
unregistered radioactive source (strontium 90) at the
Iranian border crossing, and said that the status of ANRA
has caused bureaucratic problems, especially in his
cooperation with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC),but that a compromise resolution, again changing the
status of ANRA, is forthcoming. End Summary.

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ANRA: ARMENIA LIKELY TO COMMIT TO IAEA CODE OF CONDUCT
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3. (SBU) Martirosyan told us that he expected Armenia to
make a political commitment, in the form of a letter to the
IAEA Director general, that the government is working toward
following the Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of
Radioactive Sources (ref A). Mr. Martirosyan responding to
Secretary Powell's letter urging Armenia to commit, said

SIPDIS
that there "had been a lot of talk recently" that led him to
believe that Armenia would commit.

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ARMENIAN CUSTOMS FINDS RADIOACTIVE SOURCE AT IRANIAN BORDER
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4. (SBU) Martirosyan confirmed recent press reports that
customs officers found and seized a radioactive source
(strontium 90) at the Iranian border crossing. The source
was in a pile of scrap metal being exported from Armenia.
Border guards found the metallic container of the source
badly damaged and the major part of the material absent.
Martirosyan said that the source is now in the radioactive
waste storage facility (RADON). He added that this source
had not been registered in Armenia: he has contacted the
Russian Federation for information about its origin.
According to Martirosyan, ANRA has been involved since the
discovery of the source and has also sent a report to IAEA.
(Note: For a copy of the IAEA report or photographs of the
source, e-mail Econoff at gudiet@state.gov. End Note.)

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ANRA'S STATUS STILL IN FLUX
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5. (SBU) While Martirosyan claims that ANRA's placement
under the Ministry of Nature Protection (MNP) is temporary,
ANRA remains in the same limbo that it was in a year ago.
Martirosyan claimed that his office had been moved under the
MNP due to a government decision that no agencies would
report directly to the prime minister. (Note: This
decision was ostensibly part of an overall effort to
consolidate government. End Note.) He acknowledged that
the ANRA's current status violates Armenia's Atomic Law, but
added that it had been a temporary measure. The Minister of
Nature Protection has asked him to draw up a plan that would
give ANRA a legal status (probably as committee) that would
have more autonomy than an inspectorate. He said that
President Kocharian is aware of ANRA's shaky status and that
they would discuss proposals for a solution "in the coming
days." He did not seem optimistic that ANRA would
completely regain its former independent status.


6. (SBU) In a separate, informal meeting February 23, Dr.
Aram Gevorgyan, Head of Department of Atomic Energy,
Ministry of Energy, said that ANRA would not change status.
He said that at a meeting about the future of ANRA,
President Kocharian asked Martirosyan when the last time
Martirosyan had met with the Prime Minister. When the
latter replied "1998," Kocharian noted that ANRA probably
had better access to the government under the MNP than it
did before. Comment: It's been more than one year since
Martirosyan last told us that the government would soon
consider proposals to resolve ANRA's status (ref B).
Martirosyan gave us no reason to believe that a resolution
is around the corner, and Gevorgyan strongly implied that
moving ANRA again is a non-starter for the government at
this time. End Comment.

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ANRA'S STATUS CAUSES BUREAUCRATIC PROBLEMS
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7. (SBU) Speaking about the effects of ANRA's status,
Martirosyan cited two legal problems: ANRA cannot negotiate
directly with assistance providers, like the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Agency (NRC),and ANRA's legal mandate is far
narrower than its necessary activities. ANRA's status does
not allow it to sign on its own behalf a Memorandum of
Cooperation with the NRC. (Note: Martirosyan told us that
the U.S. position is that the NRC memorandum of cooperation
can only be established with its counterpart regulatory
agency and not with a ministry. End Note.) According to
Martirosyan, this has held up important assistance programs
coming from the United States. Another legal problem stems
from ANRA's official status as an inspectorate. Although he
claims everyone is currently ignoring this legal conflict,
an inspectorate is empowered only to make inspections and
impose sanctions, but cannot wield regulatory authority.
ANRA has nevertheless carried on the same functions as
before: licensing and setting requirements through norms and
regulations. Martirosyan told us he did not feel that he
had lost control over substantive issues of regulation.


8. (SBU) ANRA has recently experienced other administrative
difficulties: the transfer to MNP put the staff in lower
pay brackets, and ANRA now has a hard time recruiting and
retaining its staff. According to Martirosyan, seven of
their 26 positions are vacant, and three current employees
intend to leave. Head of ANRA's Nuclear Information and
Foreign Affairs Section, Vladimir Kurghinyan, told us he
intended to leave to take a position for IAEA in Vienna.
Kurghinyan added that it was difficult to recruit capable
new people because the organization's new status lacked
prestige and qualified candidates did not want to take the
civil service exam.

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MARTIROSYAN FLUNKS OUT
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9. (SBU) Not least of ANRA's staffing worries is the
precarious position of Martirosyan himself. Because ANRA is
under the MNP, employees are subject the Civil Service Law
which requires that all civil servants pass the civil
service exam. Martirosyan explained that he failed the
exam, which covers only the provision of the civil service
law and nothing about nuclear regulation. Having failed the
exam, MNP had to fire Martirosyan from the Civil Service,
but they have retained him in his same position as a
contractor because, he said, no qualified civil servant has
sought the position.

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COMMENT
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10. (SBU) Martirosyan is clearly concerned about the ongoing
changes in his agency. While he believes that ANRA's status
within the bureaucracy will change, he seemed unconvinced
that ANRA would again become an independent agency.
Martirosyan has not lost substantive control over the
agency's responsibilities, but ANRA's legal limbo has
created bureaucratic problems that influence ANRA's work in
concrete ways, not least by holding up USG Assistance and
making it difficult to recruit and retain staff.
Martirosyan was grateful for U.S. expressions of concern
about the GOAM decision, and remained keen to resolve the
status of ANRA so that he could address pressing concerns of
staff problems and his own tenure.
ORDWAY