NUCLEAR NEIGHBORHOOD: ARMENIA SEEKING US GUIDANCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L YEREVAN 000213 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/CARC AND NEA/ARPI E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/13/2016 TAGS: PARM ENRG KNNP PREL AORC IR EU RS AM SUBJECT: NUCLEAR NEIGHBORHOOD: ARMENIA SEEKING US GUIDANCE ON IRANIAN PARTICIPATION REF: A) YEREVAN 190 B) YEREVAN 64 Classified By: Amb. John M. Evans for reasons 1.4 (b, d). -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) This is an action request. Member states of the Association of State Nuclear Authorities of Countries Operating VVER-type Reactors are tentatively scheduled to meet June 2006 in Yerevan. Armenia is the current chair of the association. Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Kirakossian told the Ambassador that, along with India and China, Iran had recently applied for association membership. Kirakossian also told the Ambassador that, while chaired by Finland in 2005, the association had invited Iran to attend the June 2006 Yerevan session. The GOAM, according to Kirakossian, in view of the U.S. position on Iran's nuclear ambitions, seeks "the U.S. opinion" on both Iran's participation as an observer at the Yerevan session and Iranian membership in the Association of State Nuclear Authorities of Countries Operating VVER-type Reactors. Post seeks Department's guidance for responding to Kirakossian's inquiry. End Summary. -------------- BACKGROUND -------------- ¶2. (C) On February 3, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Kirakossian returned from Tehran, where he accompanied a high-level Armenian delegation for regularly scheduled meetings of the Iran-Armenia Inter-Governmental Commission (ref A). Iranian interlocutors, according to Kirakossian, told the delegation that Iran had applied for membership in the Association of State Nuclear Authorities of Countries Operating VVER-type Reactors and planned to attend the June 2006 membership session in Yerevan. Yerevan inherited the association's rotating presidency, according to Kirakossian, after members led by Finland invited Iran to attend "the next session." According to Kirakossian, the Government of Russia had already registered opposition to Iranian participation. (Note: According to Kirakossian, association member states Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine plan to participate in the June 2006 Yerevan session. End Note.) -------------- COMMENT: MAINTAINING A STRONG U.S. POSITION -------------- ¶3. (C) Deputy Minister Kirakossian's inquiry has given us an exceptional opportunity to reinforce U.S. interests in quelling Iran's nuclear ambitions. As instructed in the past, we have repeatedly registered with our GOAM interlocutors the importance of delivering a strong, unified message against proliferation to Iran. We believe this is the time to reinforce that message by asking Armenia to reject Iran's request to participate and to table Iran's application for membership. EVANS