PORTUGAL AT THE AUSTRALIA GROUP MEETING

C O N F I D E N T I A L LISBON 001412 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR ISN/CB AND EUR/PRA E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/20/2017 TAGS: PARM PREL CBW PO SUBJECT: PORTUGAL AT THE AUSTRALIA GROUP MEETING REF: STATE 58355 Classified By: Dana M. Brown, Pol-Econ Officer, Embassy Lisbon Reason 1.4 (b) and (d) (C) In response to reftel points, MFA Deputy Director for Security and Disarmament Pedro Sousa Abreu confirmed the GOP's participation in the June 4 Paris meeting and then went on to detail Portugal's concerns regarding Russia entering the Australia Group. As Portugal prepares for its upcoming EU Presidency, Abreu noted that it is positioning itself to represent EU members on this and other multilateral policy fronts. According to Abreu, the EU is intent that the Australia Group remain a forum for like-minded nations and it believes that Russia would not be a good fit. He confided that Russia's response on a recent Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) issue had cooled the EU interest in having Russia join the Group. At the same time, the EU is reportedly not yet ready to actively discourage Russia, so Portugal is unlikely to make any statements on Russia. Hoffman