UKRAINE: MISSILE DEFENSE QUESTIONS FOR U.S.;

C O N F I D E N T I A L KYIV 000779 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/02/2017 TAGS: PREL MARR MCAP PINR RS EZ PL US UP SUBJECT: UKRAINE: MISSILE DEFENSE QUESTIONS FOR U.S.; CONSULTATIONS WITH RUSSIAN/POLISH COUNTERPARTS REF: A. KYIV 705 ¶B. KYIV 668 Classified By: Acting Political Counselor George Kent for reasons 1.4 ( b,d). ¶1. (U) This is an action request for missile defense related information. See para 5. ¶2. (SBU) We met with MFA Arms Control and Military Technical Cooperation Department Director General Volodymyr Belashov at his request March 30. Belashov expressed his appreciation for Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Director Lt Gen Obering's visit to Kyiv (ref B) and his briefings. He said the Ministry of Defense (MOD) had asked him, however, to follow up regarding several questions that were raised during the visit. -- MOD would appreciate further details of U.S. calculations about the size of debris resulting from an interceptor strike of a ballistic missile and the likelihood that such debris would fall on Ukrainian territory. -- MOD also inquired about the danger to Ukraine arising from an interceptor strike of a missile armed with a nuclear, chemical, or biological warhead or a "dirty" bomb. -- Finally, MOD wanted to verify that the U.S. would be willing to have Russian and Ukrainian military personnel visit or be stationed at the planned facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic. ¶3. (C) Belashov said he and Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Veselovsky had returned earlier the morning of March 30 from a quick visit to Moscow for missile defense consultations with Russian counterparts, including Russian DFM Sergei Kislyak. He and Veselovsky had tried to ascertain the reasons for Russian opposition to U.S. missile defense plans, but had not received clear or satisfactory answers. The Russians, however, seemed either not to understand or to be completely unconvinced by some of the U.S. explanations. Belashov had wanted to inquire why the Russians had not taken up the U.S. invitation to visit missile defense facilities in Alaska, but Kislyak seemed unaware of the offer. Kislyak was pleased President Bush had reached out to Putin on missile defense with his telephone call. Belashov said Kislyak, whom he had known since the 1980s, had been candid with the Ukrainian officials during their meeting. ¶4. (C) Belashov said Ukraine and Poland had a regularly scheduled bilateral meeting March 26 led on the Ukrainian side by DFM Veselovsky and on the Polish side by Veselovsky's Deputy Foreign Minister counterpart. Since the Polish delegation included Belashov's counterpart, Polish MFA Security Department Director Robert Kupecki, Veselovsky had called in Belashov for a quick discussion of missile defense. The Ukrainians and Poles decided to hold a more extended meeting on the topic, which might take place in Warsaw during the week of April 2. Noting that Ukraine was interested in gathering information from all sides, Belashov also referred vaguely to the possibility of Ukraine hosting a multilateral discussion on missile defense that could involve Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany, France, and perhaps NATO and the EU as organizations. ¶5. (SBU) Action Request: We request Dept coordinate with MDA to obtain information relevant to the Ukrainian questions in para 2. While MDA Director Lt Gen Obering already provided general answers to the questions, the Ukrainian MOD appears to be seeking a more detailed and "official" reply. (Note: When Ambassador briefed fellow NATO country ambassadors in mid-March on the Obering visit, several of his colleagues asked at what altitude an interceptor launched from Poland would strike a missile in its glide phase, if the missile were launched from Iran. We would also appreciate any information responsive to this question.) ¶6. (U) Visit Embassy Kyiv's classified website: www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/kiev. Taylor