NPT REVIEW CONFERENCE NON-PAPER DELIVERED TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L DUBLIN 000123 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NP/MNA GENEVA FOR CD USUN FOR POL E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/31/2015 TAGS: PARM KNNP SUBJECT: NPT REVIEW CONFERENCE NON-PAPER DELIVERED TO IRELAND REF: STATE 18228 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Political-Economic Counselor Mary Daly; Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). ¶1. (C) On January 31, Post delivered reftel non-paper on the NPT Review Conference to Therese Healy, Third Secretary in the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Disarmament and Non-proliferation Section. As a preliminary response, Healy noted that the New Agenda Coalition (NAC) resolution that passed last autumn reflected Ireland's position on the NPT. She added that that the resolution had focused on maintaining a balance among the NPT's objectives (disarmament, peaceful use, etc.) and that reftel non-paper seemed to echo that balance. Healy said that Ireland looked forward to exchanges with the USG in the run-up to the May Review Conference. ¶2. (C) Regarding reftel's queries on NPT-related public diplomacy, nuclear non-proliferation is not a major issue in Ireland, except as it relates to the perceived possibility of U.S. unilateral military action. Post believes that op-eds by the Ambassador and senior USG officials, as well as media interviews with the Ambassador that reiterate the op-eds' themes, would be the best public diplomacy tools in communicating the U.S. message on non-proliferation. DVCs would not be effective to that end. Op-eds placed in late April in the Irish Times, Ireland's paper of record, would maximize readership of USG messages on the NPT. The op-eds should emphasize U.S. support for EU efforts regarding Iran and other non-compliance cases. Public outreach efforts by visiting USG officials would probably not prove useful in influencing Ireland's views on NPT issues. KENNY