C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 001487

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/01/2017
TAGS: PARM PREL CBW ETTC MNUC KNNP IAEA IR IT
SUBJECT: ITALIAN REACTIONS TO USG PROPOSALS AT NUCLEAR
SUPPLIERS GROUP AND AUSTRALIA GROUP

REF: A. STATE 72818

B. STATE 69315

C. STATE 67462

D. STATE 58355

E. STATE 47311

F. STATE 39585

G. 06 ROME 1194


1. (C) After a lengthy delay occasioned by the travel of the
Italian official responsible for nonproliferation and export
control issues and other postponements on the Italian side,
Econoff recently succeeded in exchanging views on USG
proposals for information sharing at the Nuclear Suppliers
Group (NSG), implementation of UN Security Council
Resolutions 1737 and 1747, and GOI participation in the
Australia Group (AG) Plenary and Experts meetings (Refs. A-F).

NSG Information Sharing
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2. (C) Our contact, Carlo Tripepi, declined to formally
comment on proposals for information sharing at the Nuclear
Supplies Group (NSG) (Refs A, B, and E). He did note that
increased information sharing among NSG members and between
the NSG and the IAEA "could be a good idea," but said the GOI
needs more information and more time to consider the
proposals before taking a formal position. Tripepi noted
that because of the NSG's larger membership, which includes
Russia, it is sometimes more difficult to ensure the
confidentiality and level of detail of information shared

SIPDIS
within the NSG.

Participation in AG Plenary
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3. (C) Tripepi expressed satisfaction with the substance of
the Australia Group Plenary, noting that Italy gave
presentations on the status of Iran's biological weapons
programs and an update on Libya's efforts to dismantle its
programs. He said the GOI is especially concerned by the
development of Iran's indigenous chemical and biological
weapons capabilities. Tripepi noted the GOI's position on
Russian membership in the Australia Group is unchanged, and
that Russia will have to meet the standard Australia Group
membership criteria in order to join the group. According to
Tripepi, Russian membership in the Wassenaar Arrangement and
Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) has not been
helpful, and that Russia has blocked all decisions at the
MTCR and become a barrier to cooperation between the
Wassenaar Arrangement and the Australia Group.

Implementation of UNSCR 1737 and 1747
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4. (C) Tripepi noted Ref C points on the implementation of
UN Security Council Resolutions 1737 and 1747, and that the
GOI will implement the resolutions to their full extent. He
noted the GOI is taking a close look at Italian exports to
the Gulf region, with special attention being paid to the
possibility of transshipment to Iran via ports in the Persian
Gulf region. Tripepi added that Italy's arms export
regulations are already "among the strictest in the EU."


5. (C) Comment. The GOI is generally been supportive of USG
non-proliferation and export control initiatives. We expect
that once they have had sufficient time to evaluate our
proposals, the GOI will support USG proposals on
information-sharing between NSG members and the IAEA.
Tripepi has repeatedly expressed concern about the effect of
Russian membership on the effectiveness of the various
multilateral export control groups (NSG, MTCR, and Wassenaar
Arrangement), noting that Russian intransigence has made many
discussions in the MTCR and Wassenaar Group unproductive.
End comment.
BORG