UNSCR 1718 AND THE PROLIFERATION SECURITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L MUSCAT 001566 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/06/2016 TAGS: PARM PREL KNNP UN MU SUBJECT: UNSCR 1718 AND THE PROLIFERATION SECURITY INITIATIVE: OMAN REF: A. STATE 180512 ¶B. STATE 179478 Classified By: Ambassador Gary A. Grappo for Reasons 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (C) Pol/Econ Chief met on November 5 with Ambassador Talab Miran, Chief of the Foreign Ministry's International Organizations Department, to discuss the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) and ref A and B points on UN Security Council Resolution 1718. Miran confirmed Omani support for PSI principles and regretted that Oman was not able to send observers to the Leading Edge exercise due to the relatively short notice it received and its concurrent preparations for GCC military exercises. Miran said that Oman would endeavor to participate in future PSI events, and requested as much advance notice as possible of such events. ¶2. (C) Asked about a formal Omani endorsement of PSI, Miran responded that Oman would consider making its support of PSI more public. He added that while Oman was committed to working with the U.S. to combat proliferation, there were some legal "gray areas" regarding the authority of a country under international law to seize and impound ship-borne cargo. Miran stated that he had voiced the need for international legal authorities to address and clarify this issue when he attended a PSI conference in Warsaw, Poland earlier in the year. ¶3. (C) Given its adherence to PSI principles and its respect for UN Security Council resolutions, Miran said that Oman supported the full and effective implementation of UNSCR ¶1718. He had no knowledge of any Omani government relationship with the Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation (ref A). GRAPPO