UKRAINE: BILATERAL COORDINATION GROUP TALKS:

UNCLAS KIEV 000341 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR DS/OFM/TC, EUR/UMB, DS/C/DC, L (SUSAN BENDA) AND DS/IP/EUR DEPT ALSO FOR IRM/BPC/CST/LD, A/LM/PMP/DPM FRANKFURT FOR RIMC AND FRDCD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AMGT ADPM ADCO PREL KREC ASEC KRIM UP SUBJECT: UKRAINE: BILATERAL COORDINATION GROUP TALKS: DIPLOMATIC POUCH PROBLEMS REF: A)05 KIEV 1746 B)05 KIEV 1451 C)05 KIEV 178 and prior Sensitive but unclassified. Not for internet distribution. Please handle accordingly. ¶1. (SBU) During Bilateral Coordination Group talks January 24, the U.S. side raised the year-long inability of the Embassy to dispatch diplomatic pouches by air given a Ukrainian law requiring x-ray inspection. ¶2. (SBU) As Acting Chair for the U.S. side, EB A/S Tony Wayne noted that the Ukrainian law on pouch inspection was a violation of GOU commitments under the Vienna Convention, adding that Ukrainian diplomatic pouches entered and departed the U.S. without hindrance. The U.S. was able to maintain high security standards and meet our commitments to the Vienna Convention, and we expected no less from the GOU. The GOU's compromise to use sniffing dogs to inspect diplomatic pouches was not a viable option for the U.S. because of the potential for false positives that would have nothing to do with the actual contents of the diplomatic bag. U.S. pouch bags travel all over the world and were constantly re- used. ¶3. (SBU) As an interim measure, the U.S. was dispatching diplomatic pouch shipments overland to Belarus, and then onward by air from Minsk. Overland shipments were costly and time consuming for the U.S. Embassy to maintain. (Note: Given the earlier discussion of the U.S. views on the current situation in Belarus, this comment elicited groans of embarrassment from our Ukrainian counterparts.) ¶4. (SBU) Deputy FM Khandohiy noted that this was a new issue for him and promised on behalf of the MFA to look into it. He asked Valeriy Baronov, Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Aviation Security Service, to provide additional information. Mr. Baronov noted that the Aviation Security Service had prepared amendments to current GOU law that mandated x-ray inspection of diplomatic pouches. As currently drafted, the amendments would allow -- on a reciprocal basis -- exemption from screening for those countries that ensured safety procedures for transit of diplomatic pouches and couriers. He asserted that the amendments were being processed now, and he hoped that they would be approved soon. (Comment: The GOU informed the Embassy about these legislative amendments in August ¶2005. Their "almost ready" status appears not to have progressed much, if at all, since then.) ¶5. (SBU) Post Management Counselor noted that the Department of State had acted quickly to ensure free passage of diplomatic shipments following 9/11, and we were looking to the MFA for reciprocal assistance in Ukraine. This problem was shared by all diplomatic missions in Kiev, but it was having a significant operational impact on U.S. Embassy operations. ¶6. (SBU) Khandohiy responded that the MFA would monitor the situation closely, noting that the amendments to the law were almost complete and would be examined shortly. He commented, however, that the parliament was preoccupied with the March parliamentary elections, implying that adoption of the new legislation on diplomatic pouches might have to wait until after the elections. ¶7. (U) A/S Wayne did not have a chance to clear this cable. HERBST