GLOBAL INITIATIVE TO COMBAT NUCLEAR TERRORISM:

UNCLAS TASHKENT 000523 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER PREL KNNP UZ SUBJECT: GLOBAL INITIATIVE TO COMBAT NUCLEAR TERRORISM: POSITIVE RESPONSE LIKELY FROM UZBEKISTAN REF: A. STATE 21535 ¶B. TASHKENT 394 (NOTAL) Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly. ¶1. (SBU) On April 2 the Ambassador, jointly with his Russian counterpart, invited the GOU to endorse the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism Statement of Principles and to participate in future meetings (ref A). Deputy Foreign Minister Anvar Salikhbaev said that Uzbekistan understands the threat of nuclear terrorism in light of its proximity to Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan. The Government of Uzbekistan, he continued, also has shown its commitment to nonproliferation, most recently by joining the Central Asian Nuclear Weapons Free Zone and by participating in an effort with the United States, Russia, and Kazakhstan to remove highly enriched uranium in spent fuel from the Institute of Nuclear Physics near Tashkent. Salikhbaev said that he thought it likely that a positive response to the invitation would be forthcoming prior to the initiative's June meeting in Kazakhstan. ¶2. (SBU) Comment: Salikhbaev's reaction was as positive as could reasonably be expected. The ultimate decision will be made by President Karimov; however, Salikhbaev's comments suggest a positive response. PURNELL