HOLY SEE SUPPORTS PSI

C O N F I D E N T I A L VATICAN 000064 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 4/12/2016 TAGS: MNUC PARM PGOV PHSA PREL KNNP XX VT SUBJECT: HOLY SEE SUPPORTS PSI REF: A. REF A) STATE 50811; REF B) 04 VATICAN 2725 ¶B. A) STATE 50811; B) 04 VATICAN 2725 CLASSIFIED BY: Peter Martin, Pol/Econ Chief, Vatican, State. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) Holy See Office Director for Disarmament Paolo Conversi noted April 7 the Vatican's support for the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) (ref a) and noted the Holy See's previous support at events such as the first anniversary meeting for the PSI in May 2004 (ref b). As he has done in previous conversations, Conversi expressed strong support for the premise of PSI, adding only that the Holy See hoped PSI would complement rather than duplicate UN non-proliferation efforts. He said the Holy See saw great value in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). ¶2. (C) We passed Conversi ref (a) points, and noted in particular the endorsement of PSI by the UN High Level Panel. Conversi said a Holy See representative would likely attend the June PSI Senior Level Political Meeting in Warsaw. As for any further statement of support for PSI, or an endorsement of Statement of Interdiction Principles, Conversi said he would discuss possibilities with his superiors. He noted that in some cases the Vatican refrained from taking a specific position on technical issues; it is possible that the PSI Principles might fall into this category. ROONEY