RUSSIA WILL NOT BID ON IRANIAN REACTOR TENDER

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 002125 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR ISN/RA (NEPHEW) E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/08/2012 TAGS: KNNP IR MNUC PARM ENRG RS SUBJECT: RUSSIA WILL NOT BID ON IRANIAN REACTOR TENDER REF: A. STATE 61194 ¶B. MOSCOW 1877 Classified By: EST Counselor Daniel O'Grady. Reasons: 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (SBU) On May 8 we took advantage of a lunch with Aleksandr Shilin, the MFA's point person for Iran issues in the Department of Security and Disarmament Affairs (DVBR),to discuss Russian intentions regarding Iran's tender to construct two new 1,000-1,600 MW nuclear power plants (REF A). Delivering REFTEL points, we urged that Russia, a nuclear supplier state, make clear that it will not respond to the Iranian tender. ¶2. (SBU) Shilin repeated and amplified the assurance given by DFM Kislyak to A/S Rood during the U.S.-Russia Strategic Security talks on April 17 (REF B). Shilin told us that submitting a bid would violate both UNSCRs 1737 and 1747, resolutions that the Russian Goverment fully supports. Therefore, he said, neither Rosatom nor Atomstroyexport will provide any response to the Iranian invitation. The same holds for the new jointly held government-private enterprises that come under the Atomenergoprom umbrella, Shilin said. ¶3. (SBU) We pressed Shilin further regarding whether enterprises that are 100 percent privately owned would be prevented from responding to the Iranian tender. Shilin responded that although privately held firms may not be prevented from placing bids on portions of the Iranian project, those firms dealing with sensitive technologies would in fact be barred from participating. We asked how this would be done, to which Shilin replied that Russia's interagency committee on export licensing would not grant licenses for any sensitive technology to be exported to Iran. Such requests would be denied based on UNSCRs 1737 and 1747, notwithstanding those provisions that currently allow light water reactor technology to be exported for construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant. We asked about firms that fill support roles that in fact have nothing to do with reactor technology. Shilin agreed with us that these are the only enterprises that could potentially have a role in any new Iranian project. BURNS