PSI UPDATE DELIVERED TO FRENCH MFA

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 004356 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR ISN, T, EAP, EUR, NEA E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/25/2017 TAGS: PREL PARM ETTC EWWT KNNP GR SY TU FR SUBJECT: PSI UPDATE DELIVERED TO FRENCH MFA REF: A. STATE 147393 ¶B. PARIS 4258 Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt for reaso ns 1.4 b and d. ¶1. (C) On October 24, PolOff transmitted reftel A demarche to Luis Vassy and Melanie Rosselet, MFA desk officers for nuclear non-proliferation. Vassy thanked us for the close cooperation, including the reftel A update. He said that the GOF is still evaluating whether UNSCR 1718 will apply, and acknowledged that catch-all provisions could be a good backup answer. He noted that all conclusions are preliminary while technical analysis is undergoing. He said he would talk with the French Embassy in Athens to ensure coordination among all involved GOF parties. ¶2. (C) Vassy stated that the mobilization for this alert has been useful to PSI countries and suggested that U.S. and French authorities treat it as a learning experience. First, the USG and GOF could draw lessons learned from how the process worked and specifically, what difficulties were encountered. Second, the USG and GOF could discuss how to carry the learning experience to other PSI colleagues. Vassy noted the difficulty of information sharing in the forum, and stated that reflection on this experience could lead to concrete improvements in the process for future mobilizations. He noted in passing that cooperation with Turkey in the PSI context could be improved. He suggested that lessons learned be a side topic at the next meeting of the appropriate U.S. and French interlocutors. Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm Stapleton