ITALIAN RESPONSE ON USG PROPOSED UN COPUOS STSC

UNCLAS ROME 001968 SIPDIS FOR OES/SAT, IO, AND EUR/WE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TSPA AORC IT UNPUOS UNGA SUBJECT: ITALIAN RESPONSE ON USG PROPOSED UN COPUOS STSC SPACE DEBRIS MITIGATION GUIDELINES REF: A. A) STATE 090961 (NOTAL) ¶B. B) STATE 18202 (NOTAL) ¶C. C) UNVIE 00173 (NOTAL) ¶1. On May 24, Science Counselor delivered the text in ref A to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Italian Space Agency (ASI),and the Italian National Research Council. On June 7, Counselor Giovanni Manfredi, Chief of Office VI (S&T Cooperation) at the MFA's Directorate General for Multilateral Economic and Financial Cooperation, provided the Ministry's response. Manfredi informed us that the GOI considers the U.S. draft proposal on high level space debris to be compatible with Italian proposals on the same subject, and therefore accepts the U.S. draft. He added that the Italian delegation would like to continue discussing space debris mitigation with the American delegation in Vienna next week at the COPUOS intersessional working group meeting from June 13-16. ¶2. In a separate communication, Gabriella Arrigo, Head of ASI's Office for International Relations with non-European Space Agency/EU Countries, informed us that the GOI would support the U.S. draft text and would work with the U.S. delegation to improve it. SEMBLER NNNN 2005ROME01968 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED