GOC CONCERNED ABOUT U.S. REQUEST TO EXTEND CW

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 003994 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR ISN E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/04/2016 TAGS: PARM PREL CO SUBJECT: GOC CONCERNED ABOUT U.S. REQUEST TO EXTEND CW DESTRUCTION DEADLINE REF: STATE 62850 Classified By: Political Counselor Jeffrey DeLaurentis; Reasons 1.4 (b,d) (C) In a meeting with Poloff May 3, MFA Coordinator for Disarmament Daniel Avila said the GOC, as a member of the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, supported U.S. efforts to destroy its chemical weapons stockpile and the U.S. request for an extension of the destruction deadline. He said the GOC understood technical and regulatory issues were the cause of the delay, not a lack of U.S. commitment to the Chemical Weapons Convention. However, Avila said the GOC was concerned about potential negative consequences of the U.S. delay: other countries with chemical weapons may use it as an excuse to delay their own destruction efforts. Avila said that rigorous implementation of Section VII of the Convention, which calls for each party to adopt necessary measures to ensure its implementation, might alleviate some of the GOC's concerns. WOOD