LITHUANIAN MFA OPPOSES ARMS SALE TO NEPAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L VILNIUS 000648

SIPDIS

STATE PASS TO EUR/NB, EUR/PRA (MCASSAYRE)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/20/2015
TAGS: ETTC PARM LH NP
SUBJECT: LITHUANIAN MFA OPPOSES ARMS SALE TO NEPAL

REF: A. SECSTATE 95775


B. VILNIUS 530

Classified By: Political/Economic Officer Alexander Titolo for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Lithuania's MFA will oppose the approval of
a license for JSC Manubaltas to export ammunition
manufacturing equipment to the Kingdom of Nepal at the GOL's
next inter-agency meeting on this issue. The GOL had
consulted with the USG on this sale, pursuant to its
Wassenaar commitments (ref B). We informed the MFA on May 24
that the USG did not have any objection to the sale based on
the information they made available to us (ref A). Details
provided to the GOL from other EU nations led to the MFA's
determination that the sale would violate the EU's Code of
Conduct on arms exports. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) Donatas Vainalavicius, of the MFA's Arms Control,
Non-proliferation and Disarmament Division, told us June 15
that the MFA has concluded that the sale of ammunition
manufacturing machinery would violate Criteria Two (human
rights concerns) and Three (internal security concerns) of
the EU's Code of Conduct on arms sales. Vainalavicius said
that the Governments of France and Germany recently informed
the GOL that they had previously invoked the same criteria in
denying export licenses for the Manubaltas's parent company,
the French firm Manurhin Equipment S.A., to export this same
equipment to Nepal. (The French and German governments had
not confirmed these denials to the GOL at the time the MFA
initially approached us.) He reiterated the MFA's
apprehension that the application of a French manufacturer
for an export license in Lithuania might indicate a shopping
expedition in search of relaxed licensing procedures.


3. (C) Vainalavicius said the export control board still has
not taken a final decision, and that other ministries could
still present new information in favor of the sale at its
as-yet-unscheduled next meeting.
Mull