CYPRUS ARMS: LETTERS EXCHANGED

C O N F I D E N T I A L ATHENS 001058

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/22/2017
TAGS: CY GR MARR PARM PGOV PREL TU NATO
SUBJECT: CYPRUS ARMS: LETTERS EXCHANGED

REF: A. SECSTATE 60882


B. ATHENS 772

C. SECSTATE 41819

D. SECSTATE 35756 (OR 35757)

E. ATHENS 00385

F. ATHENS 00110

G. 2006 ATHENS 02884

H. 2006 SECSTATE 165770

Classified By: AMBASSADOR CHARLES RIES. REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (U) This is action request for Department. See paragraph

4.


2. (C) On May 21, Ambassador received from MFA Secretary
General Ambassador Charalambos Rocanas a letter outlining the
Greek plan to resolve the issue of the illegal transfer of
U.S.-origin equipment to Cyprus in violation of Section 3 of
the Arms Export Control Act, as amended, and sections 505 and
620C of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (see
paragraph 5 below for the text of the letter). The letter,
which had been the subject of negotiations between the U.S.
and Greece since February, met all the conditions stipulated
by the United States and the wording was precisely as
stipulated in STATE 60882 (refs a-e). On May 22, as per
instructions (refs. a-e),Ambassador provided a response to
Rocanas acknowledging receipt of the Greek letter and
reiterating key U.S. concerns (see paragraph 6 below for text
of Ambassador's response).


3. (C) With the exchange of letters complete, the
implementation of the Greek plan should now move into its
main phase. In accordance with the arrangement the
Ambassador reached with Greek CHOD Admiral Chinofotis in
January, 2007 (ref. f),Embassy will confirm with the Greeks
a date for the initial implementation-verification visit to
Cyprus by U.S. personnel. Embassy believes this visit would
be most appropriate in late June, once the Greeks have had an
opportunity to implement some elements of their plan but
before the implementation was so far advanced as to make any
needed changes difficult. The Greeks have asked that the
number of Americans on the initial verification visit be kept
to three or four to avoid unnecessary press attention to the
visit. We envision two personnel from Embassy Athens and two
from Washington.


4. (C) ACTION REQUEST: Embassy requests Department identify
two U.S. officials to participate in the initial verification
visit to Cyprus, notionally anticipated for late June. It
will be important that the Washington officials be both
knowledgeable of U.S. legal requirements and prepared to make
immediate recommendations to the Greeks about implementation
measures.


5. (SBU) BEGIN TEXT OF ROCANAS LETTER:

Athens, May 18, 2007

Dear Charlie:

It is hereby confirmed that any defense articles provided by
the United States to Greece pursuant to agreements entered
into prior to December 22, 1987, shall be placed in
facilities under exclusive Greek command and control. All
other defense articles provided by the United States to
Greece, or provided by the United States to any other country
or international organization and subsequently provided to
Greece, shall be removed from Cyprus.

No personnel other than those of Greece or the United States
may be provided access to any defense article that was
provided by the United States to Greece, including any
defense article provided by another government or
international organization with the authorization of the
United States, without explicit permission of the United
States.

Any warehoused defense articles provided by the United States
shall be under exclusive Greek command and control, which
shall be maintained at all times, including after removal
from storage.
Effective implementation of these measures may require a
small incremental addition of personnel, which is not
expected to exceed 300.

The implementation of the above arrangements may be confirmed
through visits in situ by U.S. personnel; such visits shall
be facilitated by Greek military and civilian authorities
whenever requested.

It is our expectation that the implementation and
verification by the United States of the aforementioned
arrangements will bring Greece into compliance with its
obligations to the United States and lead to the removal of
the constraints that the issue has placed on the relationship
between the United States and the Government of Greece.

(signature)
Charalambos Rocanas
Ambassador

END TEXT OF ROCANAS LETTER


6. (SBU) BEGIN TEXT OF AMBASSADOR RIES RESPONSE:

May 22, 2007

Dear Ambassador Rocanas:

We have received your letter and find the proposed procedures
regarding defense articles provided by the United States to
be positive. We appreciate your willingness to confirm in
writing that Greece will allow site visits by U.S. personnel
for the purpose of verification that actions are in
accordance with those procedures. As we noted in our
conversation on February 22, 2007, and in subsequent
conversations, certain conditions must be met before
resolution of this issue is possible. Resolution of this
issue will depend on the unequivocal action by the GOG to
fulfill its obligations to the United States governing arms
transfers. With the implementation of the following
elements, and proper verification of such implementation, the
Government of the United States of America will consider
Greece to be in compliance with the aforementioned
obligations to the United States with regard to the presence
on Cyprus of defense articles provided by the United States:

-- All defense articles provided pursuant to agreements
between the United States and Greece entered into after
December 22, 1987, must be removed from Cyprus;

-- There will be no co-location of U*S.-prkvided equipment
with Cyprikt equipment; if the U.S.-provided equipment under
Gree+ cont2ol is close to or adjacent to a Cypriot Natikjal
Cuard facility, there must e8ist a su"STantial physical
separation between the U.S.%pr-Vided and the Cypriot
equipment with a diStifc4 entranae/exit under exclusive Greek
control for access to the U.S.-provided equipment, which does
not involve transit through such Cypriot facility;

-- The U.S.-provided equipment should be consolidated into
the fewest number of facilities possible;

-- The number of guards must be sufficient to provide
adequate security and control in accordance with existing
obligations.

We remind you that no persons other than officers, employees,
or agents of the Government of Greece or of the United States
may be provided access to any defense articles provided by
the United States.

We expect to consult with your Government should we believe
that any of these elements are not being properly implemented
or should we believe that the Government of Greece has
violated its obligations to the United States with respect to
the presence on Cyprus of defense articles provided by the
United States.

Sincerely,

(signature)

Charles P. Ries

END TEXT OF RIES RESPONSE
RIES