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