GOI SUPPORTS USG POSITION ON RUSSIAN MEMBERSHIP IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 001194

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/05/2031
TAGS: PARM PREL MTCRE MNUC ETTC KSCA TSPA RS IT
SUBJECT: GOI SUPPORTS USG POSITION ON RUSSIAN MEMBERSHIP IN
AUSTRALIA GROUP; IN RECEIPT OF MTCR POINTS

REF: A. STATE 54784

B. ROME 933

C. STATE 43394

Classified By: Acting EcMin Kathleen Reddy for reasons 1.4 C, D, and H


1. (C) Summary. Acting EcMin met April 12 with Carlo
Tripepi, Senior Advisor for Non-proliferation and Trade
Controls to the MFA's Director General for Economic Affairs,
to deliver Refs A and C talking points and non-papers.
Tripepi said the GOI position on Russian membership in the
Australia Group (AG) is that a Russian application for
membership in the group would have to be assessed using
standard AG requirements for membership, including compliance
with the Chemical and Biological Weapons Conventions and
constructive participation in other non-proliferation
regimes. Tripepi said he would pass Ref C non-papers on USG
proposals to change Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)
controls on hydrazine derivatives and polymeric substances to
the relevant GOI working-level experts. End summary.

Russian Push for Australia Group Membership
--------------


2. (C) Responding to Ref A talking points, Tripepi noted the
GOI has adopted the EU position on Russian membership in the
AG. According to Tripepi, the EU informed the GOR that it
"welcomes Russian interest" in AG membership and that Russian
participation in the AG is a "consistent next step" in
Russian engagement on nonproliferation issues. According to
Tripepi, the EU believes a Russian application to join the AG
would have to be "assessed on substantive, not political,
criteria ... following Australia Group procedures without
exception or discrimination." Tripepi said he would pass Ref
A talking points to Antonio Catalano, who would represent the
GOI at the G8 Non-Proliferation Director's Group (NPDG)
meeting in Moscow.


3. (C) Tripepi then recalled a February 15 meeting with the
Russian Ambassador to Italy, the first foreign government
official to raise this issue with Tripepi. Tripepi's
response to the Russian Ambassador was that while Russia is
welcome to apply for AG membership (which Tripepi noted
Russia has not yet formally done),the application must be
evaluated using AG standard criteria. Tripepi speculated the
GOR push for discussion of Russian AG membership within the
G8 may be an effort to have the GOR application be evaluated
using political, rather than standard AG, criteria. Tripepi
also said he had pointedly advised the envoy that Russia had
a long way to go before AG membership. He said Russia had
met neither Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) nor Chemical
Weapons Convention (CWC) obligations, nor did Russia have an
effective export control regime. Tripepi also characterized
Russian behavior in other nonproliferation groups -- the
MTCR, Nuclear Suppliers Group, and Wassenaar Arrangement --
as "not constructive."


4. (C) Tripepi underscored again that the EU/GOI position
is that Russia must meet all of the standard AG criteria for
membership. He noted a G8 discussion would "not be
productive," since the G8 is the wrong forum for this issue,
and that Russian membership in the AG would eventually have
to be discussed at the AG. He concluded by noting, however,
that it will be difficult to keep the issue out of the G8, as
the G8 has discussed non-proliferation issues in the past.
Tripepi made specific mention of G8 non-proliferation
discussions on India, Pakistan, and China, but noted the G8
had not specifically discussed AG membership at any previous
G8 meeting.


5. (C) Comment. In an earlier separate conversation with
A/EcMin, Tripepi said he thought the U.S. fear of onward
proliferation by Russian entities was well-founded, given the
powerful criminal element in Russia and large chemical
weapons stockpile there. The stockpile, Tripepi repeated
several times, is extremely worrisome. He also said Russian
behavior was at its worst in MTCR meetings and that Moscow's
abrasive opposition to the proposed membership of the Baltic
countries was "almost Soviet."


6. (C) Comment continued. We have demarched the GOI on
Russian AG membership three times: March 16, March 17
(reported Ref B),and April 12. Throughout this timeframe,
the GOI has remained opposed to admitting Russia to the AG
before Russia has satisfactorily met standard AG criteria,
including improved observance of its Biological Weapons
Convention and Chemical Weapons Convention obligations and a
tighter export control regime. Should the question of
discussing the issue in the G8 arise, we believe Italy would
support remanding the issue to the competent authority, the
Australia Group. End comment.
BORG