CYPRUS WELCOMES GI INVITATION, WILL ATTEND

UNCLAS NICOSIA 000411 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR T (KATSAPIS),ISN (GRANT),EUR/SE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER PARM PREL CY SUBJECT: CYPRUS WELCOMES GI INVITATION, WILL ATTEND KAZAKHSTAN MEETING REF: A. SECSTATE 62145 ¶B. SECSTATE 58978 ¶1. (SBU) In response to Ref A, the Embassy May 10 delivered the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GI) "invitation" to Marios Kountarides, the Cypriot Foreign Ministry's deputy chief for multilateral affairs. In his remarks, PolChief welcomed Cyprus as a new GI partner nation and voiced the U.S. Government's hope that the RoC participate actively in and contribute to the Initiative. In GI discussions, partner nations must focus on the Initiative's core function of countering the grave threat of nuclear terrorism, however, and not allow "outside political disputes" to compromise effectiveness. Embassy Ankara was passing a similar message to Turkish interlocutors, he added. Last, PolChief raised the upcoming meeting of GI partner nations in Astana, Kazakhstan (Ref B),and pressed for high-level MFA attendance. ¶2. (SBU) Kountarides was expecting our GI message, since Foreign Minister Yiorgos Lillikas earlier had expressed Cyprus's intention to join via letters to the Secretary and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The government would engage wholeheartedly in this initiative, he promised, acknowledging the security threat that GI hoped to reduce. Kountarides skirted around our admonition regarding "outside political disputes," however. Regarding the Astana meeting, he inquired whether there would be a formal welcoming ceremony for new members, explaining that such an event would mandate a higher-level delegation. (Note: We since have learned that there will be recognition for incoming partner nations, and transmitted this information to the MFA.) ¶3. (SBU) Before visiting Kountarides, PolChief contacted Russian Embassy DCM Alexander Shcherbakov regarding a possible joint demarche. A scheduling conflict prevented Shcherbakov from joining. On May 11, however, the Russian diplomat delivered the GI invitation to Kountarides's boss, Multilateral Affairs chief Pantias Eliades. In a follow-up meeting with PolChief, Shcherbakov claimed that he, too, had urged the MFA not to allow CyProb friction with Turkey to seep into GI discussions. Eliades was similarly non-committal in his response to the Russian. ¶4. (U) Embassy Nicosia POC information for the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism: Macris, Gregory Chief, Political Section 357-22-393524 (office) 357-99-424355 (cell) 357-22-393467 (fax) macrisgp@state.gov (unclass email) macrisgp@state.sgov.gov (classified email) Alternate POC is Political Officer Greg Stein: 357-22-3475, steings@state.gov, steings@state.sgov.gov ¶5. (U) Host Nation POC information: Kountarides, Marios Deputy Chief of Multilateral Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus 357-22-401151 (office) 357-22-664807 (shared fax) mkountourides@mfa.gov.cy SCHLICHER