LITTLE PROGRESS ON INVESTIGATING SEIZURE OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 000312

SIPDIS

EUR/CACEN, NP, IO/T, S/CT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/17/2015
TAGS: MNUC PARM KCRM PTER ASEC AM TU KPRP
SUBJECT: LITTLE PROGRESS ON INVESTIGATING SEIZURE OF
CESIUM-137 AT TURKISH/GEORGIAN BORDER

REF: A) YEREVAN 131 B) ANKARA 810

Classified By: CDA A.F. Godfrey for reasons 1.4 (b, d).

Summary
--------------


1. (C) Armenia asserts that it has still not received formal
notification that from either the IAEA or from the Turkish
authorities that Cesium-137 seized on the Georgia-Turkey
border in December 2004 originated in Armenia. Armenian MFA
experts tell us they will insist on a formal investigation
and an official notification, without which a criminal
prosecution in an Armenian court would not be possible. End
Summary


2. (C) We met on February 16 with Armen Israelian, head of
the Armenian MFA's Department of Arms Control and
International Security, to follow-up discussions on the
seizure of an truck from Armenia found to contain Cesium-137.
Israelian claimed that the only notification the Government
of Armenia had received was a fax from the Turkish Atomic
Energy Authority to the Deputy Head of Armenia's Agency for
Emergency Situations. Neither his office -- which is the
official IAEA point of contact -- nor the National Security
Service had been formally notified. He further claimed that
the only copy of the IAEA Incident Notification Form he had
seen was the one shown to him by the U.S. Embassy.


3. (C) Israelian said that Armenia will insist on an
official notification and a formal investigation. Since --
if it turns out that the source originated in Armenia -- the
end result of an investigation would be a criminal trial, any
evidence obtained must be kept in proper channels and be
strictly accounted for.


4. (C) Israelian said that the GOAM was not ready to concede
that the Cesium-137 originated in Armenia. He admitted that
truck began its trip in Armenia, but argued that the truck
was in the sole custody of the driver all the way across
Georgia and the radioactive material could technically have
been obtained there. While an "official" investigation would
not begin before Armenia received a formal notification,
Israelian said that Armenia's National Security Service (NSS)
had already begun investigating the incident. The NSS
determined that the truck crossed from Armenia into Georgia
at the Bagratashen border crossing (the main crossing point
for cargo). He said that the fact that Georgia's radiation
detector did not detect the Cesium-137 when the truck crossed
the border called into serious question Turkey's assertion
that the radioactive source originated in Armenia. (Note: A
recent visitor from the IAEA told Embassy Yerevan's Customs
Adviser that the radiation detection equipment on the
Georgian side of the border had been inoperative for four
months. End Note.)


5. (C) In a follow-up conversation to the February 16
meeting, CDA on February 23 pressed Israelian to engage with
the Georgian and Turkish authorities to begin an
investigation in earnest. Israelian said that the NSS would
continue its inquiries, even absent a formal request.
Israelian told us that the NSS had made an approach to U.S.
intelligence representatives to request appropriate
cooperation from Georgia. Israelian stated that it would
also be useful if the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEK)
would officially notify their counterpart agency in Armenia,
the Armenian Nuclear Regulatory Agency (ANRA) about the
seizure.

Comment
--------------

6, (C) We do not question whether the Cesium-137 originated
in Armenia. Israelian knows that the Bagratashen radiation
detector's failure to detect the material is not dispositive.
We are frustrated that the Armenian NSS has no effective
links with its neighbor's intelligence service. But we
recognize that the NSS has been frustrated by a lack of a
consistent counterpart in Georgia as structural changes
continue there. Armenia's lack of diplomatic relations with
Turkey hampers progress in this case. We will continue to
press the GOAM to take this more seriously and to recognize
that non-proliferation cooperation issues must not be hostage
to bilateral disputes. Nevertheless, formal notification of
the seizure by either the IAEA or Turkey would help. Armenia
has recent experience in which poor procedure almost led to
the acquittal of an Armenian who attempted to smuggle
weapons-grade HEU across state lines.
GODFREY