EGYPTIAN PLANNING FOR NPT PREPCOMM MEETING

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 000519 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/22/2012 TAGS: KNNP IAEA PREL EG IS IR SUBJECT: EGYPTIAN PLANNING FOR NPT PREPCOMM MEETING REF: A. STATE 20716 ¶B. VIENNA 60 Classified By: DCM Stuart Jones for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (C) The MFA's Disarmament Office Director told poloff on February 22 that Egypt plans to submit a paper addressing Middle East issues at the upcoming NPT Preparatory Committee meeting for the 2010 Review Conference to focus the debate on Israel and the 1995 Resolution. Stressing that the paper is not yet complete, the office director said it may include proposals for: the suspension of nuclear cooperation with Israel; the establishment of a committee charged with interacting with Israel on its nuclear program, and the creation of a mechanism for regularly scheduled meetings to chart progress towards the implementation of the 1995 resolution. He declined to provide any further information on the proposals (noting again that the ideas are still under discussion internally),but promised to provide an advance copy of the paper after it has been cleared in the Ministry. ¶2. (C) While conceding that Iran's nuclear program and the absence of Middle East peace are critical impediments to Israel's accession to the NPT, the office director said Egypt objects to the U.S.'s unwillingness to discuss even technical aspects of a Middle East Nuclear Weapons Free Zone. He complained that whenever Egypt asks to discuss Israel, the U.S. shifts the focus to Iran. "We are speaking different languages," he said. A discussion of verification techniques and procedures for implementation of the "zone" would show a good faith interest by the U.S. in keeping the issue on the agenda. An IAEA-hosted forum to discuss experiences relevant to the creation of a zone could be helpful, he said, but Israel is unlikely to agree to an agenda that focus on anything other than negative experiences and obstacles. ¶3. (C) Comment: These comments, taken in the context of ref B discussions in Vienna, suggest that the GOE is gearing up to try to force a discussion of the Israel issue at the PrepComm meeting in late April. We will follow up for more detail on the proposals under consideration and report separately. RICCIARDONE