ITALY, VENEZUELA NOT NEGOTIATING NAVAL VESSEL SALE

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 000494

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/15/2016
TAGS: MARR MASS PREL PARM VE IT EXPORT CONTROLS
SUBJECT: ITALY, VENEZUELA NOT NEGOTIATING NAVAL VESSEL SALE

REF: STATE 21457

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor David D. Pearce for Reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) PolMinCouns delivered reftel demarche to MFA Director
General for the Americas Claudio Bisogniero February 15. He
noted public statements by the GOV defense minister
suggesting that Venezuela might look to Italy.for submarines,
urged the GOI not to contemplate such sales, and reviewed USG
concerns about a GOV arms build-up.


2. (C) Bisogniero responded that Italy was not in
negotiations relating to the sale of naval vessels of any
kind, whether surface vessels or submarines, with Venezuela.
And he would inform us ahead of time if this were ever to
change. Italy had very strict arms export laws and those
laws required MFA approval in advance for a company to enter
into any negotiations for a sale, and then MFA approval again
to finalize it.


3. (C) Comment: While several media reports have mentioned
Italy as a potential source of submarines for the GOV, post
has not been able to find any corroborating information
linking Italy to such a sale. Bisogniero himself obviously
had been at some pains to run this down with Italy's export
control authorities. As during the recent visit of A/S
Shannon, he made clear the GOI shared USG concerns about
Venezuela. He said he did not know what had prompted the
Venezuelan defense minister's statement, but was emphatic
that Italian submarine sales were neither in progress nor in
prospect. End comment.
SPOGLI